Introduction
In at-will employment states, an employer can fire an employee for any reason and at any time, as long as the reason is not illegal. Employees in the United States are entitled to various workplace rights, which entail that employees cannot be denied employment or be fired discriminately due to immutable characteristics such as, but not limited to, race, sex, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or veteran status.
Every state in the U.S. has some form of at-will employment. At-will employment provides certain benefits for both employees and business owners. For example, it gives business owners the ability to reduce their cost of labor quickly, if necessary. On the other hand, it gives employees the ability to be flexible with regard to where they work, especially when it comes to leaving jobs they dislike in order to seek new employment opportunities.
In the event that an employer does terminate the employment of his or her employees in order to reduce labor costs, the employee can typically apply for and collect unemployment benefits so long as the termination of their employment was not caused by any fault of their own.
Many states also have some form of a public policy exemption, which entails that an employee cannot be fired if firing that employee would violate public policy. For example, an employee could not be fired for refusing to do something that’s illegal in that state, for reporting a violation as a whistleblower, or for performing a civic duty such as attending jury duty.
Learn more about at-will employment by state by exploring the data in the charts.
State | At-Will Employment Status | Right-to-Work Law |
---|---|---|
Montana | No | No |
Alabama | Yes | Yes |
Alaska | Yes | No |
Arizona | Yes | Yes |
Arkansas | Yes | Yes |
California | Yes | No |
Colorado | Yes | No |
Connecticut | Yes | No |
Delaware | Yes | No |
Florida | Yes | Yes |
Georgia | Yes | Yes |
Hawaii | Yes | No |
Idaho | Yes | Yes |
Illinois | Yes | No |
Indiana | Yes | Yes |
Iowa | Yes | Yes |
Kansas | Yes | Yes |
Kentucky | Yes | Yes |
Louisiana | Yes | Yes |
Maine | Yes | No |
Maryland | Yes | No |
Massachusetts | Yes | No |
Michigan | Yes | Yes |
Minnesota | Yes | No |
Mississippi | Yes | Yes |
Missouri | Yes | No |
Nebraska | Yes | Yes |
Nevada | Yes | Yes |
New Hampshire | Yes | No |
New Jersey | Yes | No |
New Mexico | Yes | No |
New York | Yes | No |
North Carolina | Yes | Yes |
North Dakota | Yes | Yes |
Ohio | Yes | No |
Oklahoma | Yes | Yes |
Oregon | Yes | No |
Pennsylvania | Yes | No |
Rhode Island | Yes | No |
South Carolina | Yes | Yes |
South Dakota | Yes | Yes |
Tennessee | Yes | Yes |
Texas | Yes | Yes |
Utah | Yes | Yes |
Vermont | Yes | No |
Virginia | Yes | Yes |
Washington | Yes | No |
West Virginia | Yes | Yes |
Wisconsin | Yes | Yes |
Wyoming | Yes | Yes |
At-Will Employment Status by State
Alabama
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Alaska
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Arizona
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Arkansas
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
California
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Colorado
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Connecticut
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Delaware
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Florida
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Georgia
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Hawaii
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Idaho
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Illinois
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Indiana
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Iowa
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Kansas
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Kentucky
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Louisiana
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Maine
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Maryland
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Massachusetts
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Michigan
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Minnesota
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Mississippi
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Missouri
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Montana
At-Will Employment Status
No
Nebraska
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Nevada
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
New Hampshire
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
New Jersey
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
New Mexico
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
New York
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
North Carolina
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
North Dakota
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Ohio
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Oklahoma
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Oregon
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Pennsylvania
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Rhode Island
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
South Carolina
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
South Dakota
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Tennessee
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Texas
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Utah
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Vermont
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Virginia
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Washington
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
West Virginia
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Wisconsin
At-Will Employment Status
Yes
Wyoming
At-Will Employment Status
Yes