At-will employment

What does “at-will employment” mean?

At-will employment means either the employer or the employee may end the relationship at any time, for any lawful reason or no reason, without advance notice.

California presumes employment is at will. The presumption can be modified by contract, and it can be undercut by an employer's own conduct: handbooks, offer letters and long-standing practice have all been read as promises limiting it.

At will is not a defense to everything. It permits termination for no reason; it does not permit termination for an unlawful reason, and the two are easy to confuse in the moment.

Why it matters to an employer

The gap between 'we can terminate at will' and 'this termination is defensible' is where most disputes live.