• Most employment agreements are at-will, meaning the employer can terminate the employee for many reasons as long as the reason does not discriminate.

The employment-at-will doctrine states that, when an employee does not have a written employment contract and the term of employment is of indefinite duration, the employer can terminate the employee for good cause, bad cause, or no cause at all. Of course, that reason cannot be an illegal one such as one based on discrimination because of age, sex, race, or any other protected category.

For this reason, there are a few exceptions to the at-will doctrine. States may also have additional categories, but generally recognize the doctrine. Some states may reject the at-will concept.