If a contract of employment provides that wages are payable at a stipulated period, the presumption shall arise that the hiring is for such period, provided that, if anything else in the contract indicates that the hiring was for a longer term, the mere reservation of wages for a lesser time will not control. An indefinite hiring may be terminated at will by either party.
History. Civil Code 1895, § 2614; Civil Code 1910, § 3133; Code 1933, § 66-101.
History of Code section.
This section is derived from the decision in Magarahan v. Wright, 83 Ga. 773 , 10 S.E. 584 (1889).
Law reviews.
For survey article on contracts — Employment at Will, see 34 Mercer L. Rev. 86 (1982).
For article, “The Decline of Assent: At-Will Employment As a Case Study of the Breakdown of Private Law Theory,” see 20 Ga. L. Rev. 323 (1986).
For annual survey of law of torts, see 38 Mercer L. Rev. 351 (1986).
For annual survey of workers’ compensation, see 38 Mercer L. Rev. 431 (1986).
For article, “ ‘Sometime the Road Less Traveled is Less Traveled for a Reason’: The Need For Change in Georgia’s Employment-at-Will Doctrine and Refusal to Adopt the Public Policy Exception,” see 35 Ga. L. Rev. 1021 (2001).
For article, “Labor and Employment Law,” see 53 Mercer L. Rev. 349 (2001).
For survey article on labor and employment law for the period from June 1, 2002 to May 31, 2003, see 55 Mercer L. Rev. 303 (2003).
For annual survey of labor and employment law, see 56 Mercer L. Rev. 291 (2004).
For annual survey of labor and employment law, see 57 Mercer L. Rev. 251 (2005).
For annual survey of labor and employment law, see 58 Mercer L. Rev. 211 (2006).
For survey article on labor and employment law, see 59 Mercer L. Rev. 233 (2007).
For survey article on labor and employment law, see 60 Mercer L. Rev. 217 (2008).
For annual survey of labor and employment law, see 61 Mercer L. Rev. 213 (2009).
For article, “The Public Policy Exception to Employment At-Will: Time to Retire a Noble Warrior?,” see 61 Mercer L. Rev. 551 (2010).
For annual survey of law on labor and employment law, see 62 Mercer L. Rev. 181 (2010).
For annual survey on labor and employment law, see 64 Mercer L. Rev. 173 (2012).
For article, “Employment Discrimination,” see 64 Mercer L. Rev. 891 (2013).
For annual survey on labor and employment law, see 65 Mercer L. Rev. 157 (2013).
For annual survey on labor and employment law, see 66 Mercer L. Rev. 121 (2014).
For annual survey on labor and employment law, see 67 Mercer L. Rev. 91 (2015).
For annual survey on labor and employment law, see 69 Mercer L. Rev. 141 (2017).
For annual survey on labor and employment law, see 70 Mercer L. Rev. 125 (2018).
For annual survey on labor and employment law, see 71 Mercer L. Rev. 137 (2019).
Structure Georgia Code
Title 34 - Labor and Industrial Relations
Chapter 7 - Employment Generally; Employer’s Liability
Article 1 - General Provisions
§ 34-7-1. Determination of Term of Employment; Manner of Termination of Indefinite Hiring
§ 34-7-3. Requirements Where Wages Paid by Written Instrument; Effect of Protest or Dishonor
§ 34-7-5. Redemption of Checks or Other Written Evidences of Indebtedness for Wages