Employment At Will: What Does It Mean?
Learn whether your employer must have a good reason for firing you.
Job applicants and new employees are often perplexed to read -- in a job application, employment contract, or employee handbook -- that they will be employed "at will." They are even more troubled when they find out exactly what this language means: An at-will employee can be fired at any time, for any reason (except for a few illegal reasons, spelled out below). If the employer decides to let you go, that's the end of your job -- and you have very limited legal rights to fight your termination.
If you are employed at will, your employer does not need good cause to fire you. In every state but Montana (which protects employees who have completed an initial "probationary period" from being fired without cause), employers are free to adopt at-will employment policies, and many of them have. In fact, unless your employer gives some clear indication that it will only fire employees for good cause, the law presumes that you are employed at will.
This article will help you figure out whether you're employed at will, what rights you have as an at-will employee, and what you should do if your prospective or current employer asks you to sign an at-will agreement.
Are You an At-Will Employee?
The law generally presumes that you are employed at will unless you can prove otherwise, usually through written documents relating to your employment or oral statements your employer has made.
Employment Documents
Many employers take pains to point out, in their written policies, applications, handbook, job evaluations, or other employment-related documents, that their employees work at will. If you are currently employed, look through your employment documents -- particularly those you have signed -- to see whether any of them mention at-will employment. If you have signed a document agreeing that you are an at-will employee, that's probably the end of the story.
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