California – The At Will State

 
Upon reading your employment contract or employee handbook you may be shocked to find the term ‘at will’. You may also be shocked when you find out what that term actually means. It must be noted that the state of California is an ‘at will’ employment state. This article will discuss what the term ‘at will’ means for your employment relationship and what rights you have as an at will employee.
 
According to the Cornell Legal Information Institute at will employment is defined as, “an employment arrangement in which the employee may quit at any time and the employer may fire the employee for any reason that is not illegal. For example, an employer may fire an at will employee for poor performance, to cut costs or because the employer simply does not like the employee, but may not fire the at will employee for discriminatory reasons, to retaliate against the employee for reporting harassment, or because the employee exercised a legal right.” Therefore, put simply an at-will employee can be fired at any time, for any reason with the exception of a few illegal reasons. That is if an employer decides to let you go, that is basically the end of your job and there are few legal ramifications to fight your termination unless it is based on discrimination or retaliation.
 
Despite the fact that you are an at will employee, you have rights and cannot be fired for reasons that are illegal under state and federal laws. As a result the government has made an exception to the general rule of at will employment. For example, every employee is subject to federal and state laws which prohibit job discrimination and as such an employee cannot be fired because of certain characteristics such as race, religion or gender as this falls into wrongful termination in California (learn more here). However, there is an exception to this rule based on the organization’s size that is the number of employees in the organization. In the same breath an employee cannot be fired due to his or her filing a complaint illegal activity, discrimination or harassment or health and safety violations in the workplace. So either an employee cannot be fired for exercising a variety of legal rights, which may include the rights to take family leave and medical leave including pregnancy and parental leave, to take leave to serve in the military, to take time off work to vote or for jury duty. Once an employee is fired for any of the above reasons this is a wrongful termination and the employee can seek legal remedies for such wrongful termination. Legal remedies may result in a civil action where an employee is compensated in money damages.
 
Have you suffered wrongful termination in California based on discrimination of specific characteristics or as a result of reporting harassment safety violations or other factors based on retaliation? Seek out a law firm that specializes in employment law in California. Such a law firm will carry out a free case evaluation on your matter and provide the necessary advice as well as legal representation for your case.

If you are looking for class action lawsuit in California, the author recommends the Cooper Law Firm.