Being an “at-will” employee means you can be terminated from your position at any point without reason. If your employer chooses to eliminate your position, they can do so without citing a cause. In other words, you could be an exemplary and accomplished employee, but that will not prevent you from being terminated.
When people first learn about at-will employment, they have a significant amount of follow-on questions. The purpose of this blog is to examine this working arrangement to give you a better understanding of what it is and is not.
Legal Protections
Granted, your employer can terminate for any reason as long as that reason is not an illegal one. There are state and federal employment laws meant to protect employees. Does an at-will employment arrangement circumvent those? Absolutely not.
You cannot be terminated due to your gender, religion, race, or other characteristics specified by employment laws. Some may then ask that if they get fired, how will they know if they lost their job for an illegal reason? And this is a fair question to ask.
The safest approach is to contact an employment law attorney. He will ask the appropriate questions surrounding your termination. The point is to ensure there is adequate evidence to validate your claim that you lost your job illegally.
Exceptions
You could be asked to sign something that formally outlines your position as at-will when you first get hired. There are other times when you will have a document that specifies that you aren’t.
An independent contractor may have a contract stating the time they are being paid to do a particular task or project. These will typically list out scenarios in which the contract can be terminated. Perhaps there are milestones you must reach. Regardless, when you have a contract, your employer cannot terminate you at-will because you are not an at-will employee.
There are instances in which your employer could say something that may imply you don’t have an at-will arrangement. She may tell you that as long as you create 40 widgets a month, then you will always have a job at the company. Those are the types of things your employment law attorney looks for if you challenge your at-will termination.
Law Offices of Robert Dawson
If you have been terminated from your job illegally, please contact The Law Offices of Robert Dawson. Losing a job may make you feel powerless, but you have options. With the right attorney, you can change the dynamic.
Law Office of Robert Dawson
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