“At-Will” Employment

What exactly does it mean when a state such as California, has an “At Will” employment law?

Before you read any further you should realize that INAL – i.e., I’m Not A Lawyer. What I’m writing here is based on my fuzzy understanding of employment law based on the management training classes I slept through.

Basically the idea is that an employee can be let go at any time for any reason, except for a few reasons that are forbidden by law. Those exceptions include things like race, age, gender, etc. Of course, the idea works both ways; you as an employee are also free to walk away from the job at any time.

In practice though, firing someone is a painfully tedious process for most companies. That’s because companies will generally document pretty thoroughly the reasons why they are letting someone go. While such documentation is not strictly required, it is a defensive measure in case the fired employee sues for wrongful termination. In most cases the employee has an uphill battle proving they have been wronged, but companies don’t like to take chances.

That means that for most companies in most situations, on the spot firings are not really an option -- unless it’s for cause. “For Cause” is usually defined as gross misconduct, but again INAL, and the definition of misconduct will vary by company.

Hence it’s much easier for companies to push someone out as part of a larger layoff. In such cases the company generally does not need significant documentation as to why they let people go. In fact, they can even adopt the line “Hey, we really would have liked to have kept you onboard, but difficult times call for difficult choices…”