Rights of At-Will Workers

• At-will workers are protected by federal laws, including the Fair Labor Standards Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities and Age Discrimination in Employment Acts. If employers fail to comply with these laws, the affected workers have the right to sue to get their jobs back or for other corrective relief. Employers cannot discriminate, harass or retaliate against at-will workers who exercise their rights to file complaints under these laws.
  
  

Implied Contract Exception

• An implied contract is one in which both parties demonstrate by their behavior that they have a mutual agreement. An implied contract may be a repeated verbal statement by a manager such as, "You will always have a job here as long as you do good work." Or, it may be a statement in an employee handbook or policy manual that an employee cannot be fired without good cause or if a specific termination policy, such as progressive discipline, is documented. Employees terminated in violation of an implied contract may sue for wrongful termination; however the burden of proof rests with the employee.
  
  

Public Policy Exception

• Many states have public policy exceptions to at-will employment. In these states, an employer may not terminate a worker for refusing to do something against the law, such as lying in court or falsifying document. Employee actions in the public interest, such as reporting a crime (whistleblower), joining the National Guard, taking time off work for jury duty or to vote, cannot be punished by termination, discrimination or harassment.
  
  

Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing Exception

• Some states protect workers through the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. It is based on the assumption that "people will act in good faith and deal fairly without breaking their word, or denying what the other party obviously understood." An employment covenant is demonstrated by actions, such as repeated excellent performance reviews, promotions or pay raises that imply that an employees' work is acceptable and the workers have reason to think that their employment will continue. If an employer terminates a worker to avoid paying a large bonus or commission, this is a violation of covenant and the worker may file a wrongful termination lawsuit.