At-Will Employment/ Employment Contracts

The general rule in the state of California is that employees are "at will," which means that their employer can fire them at any time for any reason, or no reason at all but there are clear exceptions. It also means that an employee can quit at any time for any reason. The exceptions to the "at will" rule are:

  • 1. If an employee has an oral or written employment contract with their employer specifying that he or she will not be fired without 'good cause,' then the employer must provide a legitimate business reason for terminating such an employee. If the employer does not provide such a reason, the employee may have a breach of contract and a wrongful termination claim.
  • 2. An employee can also have an 'implied contract' with his or her employer. An implied contract exists when the circumstances of employment (such as long-term employment, good evaluations, and raises) and the actions and/or statements of the employer (such as assurances and progressive discipline policies) lead a reasonable employee to believe that his or her employer must have 'good cause' to terminate the employee. If an implied contract exists between an employer and an employee, the employer must have a legitimate business reason for terminating such an employee. If the employer does not provide such a reason, the employee may have a breach of implied contract claim but will face case law hurdles.
  • 3. Many state, federal, and local laws prohibit employers from terminating employees for various reasons. A termination might be considered a wrongful termination if it is based on one of the following (this is just a sample of possible claims for wrongful termination):
  • Discrimination based on age, national origin, sex, pregnancy, religion, sexual orientation or marital status. Also, if an employer terminates an employee for making complaints about discrimination based on any of the listed classifications, that termination may be considered an illegal retaliation;
  • Discrimination based on disability or retaliation for seeking a reasonable accommodation for a disability;
  • Discrimination or retaliation for taking a medical leave or a leave to care for a sick parent or child or other “family member”;
  • Discrimination or retaliation for making complaints about wage violations, such as non-payment of minimum wage or overtime compensation;
  • Discrimination or retaliation for having complained about workplace safety;
  • Discrimination or retaliation for having complained to an employer or a government agency about the employer's illegal practices or violation of public policy.

Even if an employee has not been terminated, they may have a claim against their employer if their employer has subjected them to unlawful harassment or discrimination. Harassment based on race, national origin, sex, pregnancy, disability, age, religion, sexual orientation, or marital status may be illegal.

If you need representation regarding at-will employment or any other California state labor law issue, please feel free to contact us.

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Severance Agreements

We can review your severance agreement, or approach your employer to negotiate better terms for your severance agreement. We can often improve your current offer or restructure your employer’s offer to gain advantages you did not contemplate.