By HR Brew Staff
less than 3 min read
Definition:
At-will employment is an employment relationship whereby employers are able to change the terms of employees’ employment at any time and for any reason, as long as it is not illegal, and employees can choose to end their employment at any time and for any reason without risking legal liability. It is the default employment relationship in the US.
What are the benefits of at-will employment?
At-will employment affords employers the flexibility to adjust the terms of their employees’ employment without justification, meaning they can reduce their headcount or compensation to weather an economic storm, or terminate employees who aren’t seen as a cultural fit.
What are the challenges associated with at-will employment?
At-will employment is a two-way street. The same flexibility that allows employers to cut ties with employees without justification allows employees the flexibility to cut ties with employers as they see fit. And while employers can legally change the terms of employees’ employment at any time and for any reason, an at-will employment relationship does not preclude employees from taking legal action over perceived discrimination or retaliation.
What are the exceptions to at-will employment?
There are myriad exceptions to at-will employment, including the public policy and implied contract exceptions, which are recognized by the majority of states. The former protects employees from retaliation for refusing to violate the law at the insistence of their employers. The latter protects employees who have received oral or written assurances of continued employment from their employers. Only one state does not allow at-will employment: Montana.
Can you put at-will employment into context?
“At-will employment is a legal doctrine that dictates an employee can be fired by an employer ‘for any reason and at any point, so long as the dismissal isn’t for an unlawful reason,’ according to the Legal Information Institute. All US states, except Montana, are at-will states, although there are some exceptions that circumvent an at-will statute,” HR Brew reported in August 2022.
