What it Means to be an At-Will Employee

Being an “at-will” employee means that your employer is able to terminate your employment whenever they decide to do so. The other side of this coin is that you are able to leave an at-will job without penalty, at any point that you desire unless you signed an employment contract. Even though at-will employment permits your employer to terminate you for almost any reason, this does not mean that you have no rights.

As an at-will employee, you do have rights that protect your employment to a certain extent. You can’t be terminated based on employer discrimination against your race, age (those over 40 are protected), sex, religion, disability or national origin. You also can’t be legally terminated due to whistle blowing about your employer’s illegal actions. So, if you blow the whistle about an employer performing illegal acts like treating employees in a discriminatory manner or tolerating workplace harassment then you can’t be legally terminated. If you have to take a family or medical leave, serve on a jury or perform military service then your employer can’t fire you even if your employment is at-will. If you have been unlawfully terminated, you should obtain an attorney and threaten your former employer with legal action.

Unfortunately, being an at-will employee allows an employer to pick almost any reason or no reason at all to terminate you. If the employer requires you to sign a waiver of liability and you refuse, you can still be terminated but you might be eligible for unemployment benefits. At-will employment permits the employer to fire you without good cause. Every state except Montana allows employers to employ people on an at-will basis. Montana has protections for employees who finish a probationary period that require the employer to fire them with good cause.

In most instances, your employment is considered at-will unless the employer expressly communicates that it is not at-will. It is difficult to prove that you are not an at-will employee unless you can produce written evidence or oral proof that indicates otherwise. If your employer has ever orally stated that you will only be fired for good cause by saying something like “You’ll always be able to work here as long as you need a job” or “We’ll only let you go if you can’t perform up to our standards” then the employer may not be able to successfully fire you at will. If you’ve been terminated and your employer has made such statements that are contrary to at-will employment, contact an attorney and threaten the employer with legal action. This may spur them to financially compensate you or cause them to consent to your request for unemployment benefits.

Employers tend to make it very clear in applications, employee manuals, job evaluations and formal written policies that you are employed on an at-will basis. Look through the documents that you have signed to initiate and maintain your employment and comb through them for the terms of employment. It is likely that you will find concrete evidence of your employment being on an at-will basis. However, some employers do have formal policies stating that a good cause must be provided to terminate an employee. These employers often provide a detailed, written document that communicates good cause reasons for termination.