At-Will Employment
What does "At-Will Employment" mean in law?
At-will employment is the default employment relationship in the United States, under which either the employer or the employee may terminate the relationship at any time, for any reason or no reason at all, with or without notice. This doctrine was crystallized in Adair v. United States, where the Supreme Court struck down a federal statute prohibiting employers from firing workers for union membership, holding that the right to terminate was a component of liberty of contract. Modern exceptions to at-will employment include public policy exceptions (firing for refusing to commit an illegal act), implied contract exceptions (arising from employer handbooks or representations), and the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing recognized in some jurisdictions.
Definition
At-will employment is the default employment relationship in the United States, under which either the employer or the employee may terminate the relationship at any time, for any reason or no reason at all, with or without notice. This doctrine was crystallized in Adair v. United States, where the Supreme Court struck down a federal statute prohibiting employers from firing workers for union membership, holding that the right to terminate was a component of liberty of contract. Modern exceptions to at-will employment include public policy exceptions (firing for refusing to commit an illegal act), implied contract exceptions (arising from employer handbooks or representations), and the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing recognized in some jurisdictions.
Example
When a software company fires a developer without cause and without any prior warning, the termination is presumptively lawful under the at-will doctrine unless the developer can show it falls within a recognized exception.