Every state in the United States, except Montana, employment is presumed to be at-will. This means either the employer or the employee can legally terminate the employment relationship at any time, with or without notice, and with or without cause. The employer has not guaranteed employment for a period of time, and the employee has not promised to stay; therefore, either party can end the relationship without financial penalty. There are, however, exceptions and limitations to the at-will relationship, so employers should still be careful when terminating an employee.
For example, a collective bargaining agreement or employment contract, could change the relationship so that it’s no longer at-will. It is also important to keep in mind that at-will employment does not permit an employer to terminate employment based on the employee exercising a legal right or belonging to a protected class (e.g., race, sex, religion, national origin); such a basis would be illegal and could lead to a discrimination claim.
The safest way to terminate an employee is to have sufficient documentation that justifies the business reasons behind the termination. This documentation would include infractions of policy, examples of poor performance, and any disciplinary or corrective action taken. The more an employer can do to show that they gave a terminated employee the chance to improve, the better.
The bottom line is that while at-will employment makes it sound like you can terminate employees at any time, with or without notice, and with or without cause (and to a degree you can) legitimate and documented business reasons are always best business practice.
Should you need additional information or help with this or any other HR topic, please contact us at CyQuest!