At Will Employment States

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Table

Introduction

At-will employment is a widely recognized employment arrangement in the United States, where an employer can terminate an employee at any time, for any reason, as long as it is not illegal. The majority of states in America have embraced at-will employment. Notably, Montana is the only state that does not adhere to any form of at-will employment doctrine.

Although the at-will employment doctrine is widely accepted in the United States, there may be regional variations in labor laws and practices that could impact the application and interpretation of at-will employment. it is also important to note that there are certain exceptions to at-will employment, such as when termination violates federal or state anti-discrimination laws or when an employment contract explicitly states otherwise.

At Will States

StateAt-Will Employment StatusRight to Work Status
MontanaNoNo
AlabamaYesYes
AlaskaYesNo
ArizonaYesYes
ArkansasYesYes
CaliforniaYesNo
ColoradoYesNo
ConnecticutYesNo
DelawareYesNo
FloridaYesYes
GeorgiaYesYes
HawaiiYesNo
IdahoYesYes
IllinoisYesNo
IndianaYesYes
IowaYesYes
KansasYesYes
KentuckyYesYes
LouisianaYesYes
MaineYesNo
MarylandYesNo
MassachusettsYesNo
MichiganYesYes
MinnesotaYesNo
MississippiYesYes
MissouriYesNo
NebraskaYesYes
NevadaYesYes
New HampshireYesNo
New JerseyYesNo
New MexicoYesNo
New YorkYesNo
North CarolinaYesYes
North DakotaYesYes
OhioYesNo
OklahomaYesYes
OregonYesNo
PennsylvaniaYesNo
Rhode IslandYesNo
South CarolinaYesYes
South DakotaYesYes
TennesseeYesYes
TexasYesYes
UtahYesYes
VermontYesNo
VirginiaYesYes
WashingtonYesNo
West VirginiaYesYes
WisconsinYesYes
WyomingYesYes

At Will Employment States

Alabama

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Alabama is an at-will state.

Alaska

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Alaska is an at will state, but it provides certain exemptions based on public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contract exceptions.

Arizona

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Arizona is an at will employment state, with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

Arkansas

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Arkansas is an at will state with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contract exceptions.

California

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

California, although an at will state, has exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contract exceptions.

Colorado

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

In Colorado, employers have the right to terminate employees at will, but there are exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

Connecticut

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Connecticut is an at-will state with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

Delaware

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Delaware is an at-will state with exemptions for public policy and covenants of good faith but lacks an implied contract exception.

Florida

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Florida is an at-will state without any exemptions.

Georgia

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Georgia is an at will state.

Hawaii

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Hawaii is an at-will state with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

Idaho

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Idaho is an at will employment state, with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

Illinois

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Illinois is an at-will state with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

Indiana

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

In Indiana, employers have the right to terminate employees at will, with exemptions for public policy and implied contracts.

Iowa

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Iowa is an at-will state with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

Kansas

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Kansas is an at will employment state, with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

Kentucky

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Kentucky is an at will state with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

Louisiana

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Louisiana is an at-will state without any exemptions.

Maine

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Maine is an at will state without exemptions for public policy and covenants of good faith but provides an implied contract exception.

Maryland

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Maryland is an at will state with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

Massachusetts

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Massachusetts is an at-will state with exemptions for public policy and covenants of good faith but lacks an implied contract exception.

Michigan

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Michigan is an at-will state with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

Minnesota

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Minnesota follows the at will employment doctrine, with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

Mississippi

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Mississippi is an at will state with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

Missouri

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Missouri follows the at-will employment doctrine, with exemptions for public policy and implied contracts but lacks a covenant of good faith exception.

Montana

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At-Will Employment Status

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No

Montana is not an at-will state.

Nebraska

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Nebraska is an at will state with exemptions for public policy, implied contracts, and covenants of good faith.

Nevada

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Nevada follows the at-will employment doctrine, with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

New Hampshire

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

New Hampshire is an at will state with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

New Jersey

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

New Jersey follows the at will employment doctrine, with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

New Mexico

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

New Mexico is an at-will state with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

New York

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

New York is an at-will state without exemptions for public policy but provides exemptions for implied contracts.

North Carolina

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

North Carolina follows the at-will employment doctrine, with exemptions for public policy and implied contracts but lacks a covenant of good faith exception.

North Dakota

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

North Dakota is an at will state with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

Ohio

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Ohio is an at-will state with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

Oklahoma

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Oklahoma follows the at-will employment doctrine, with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

Oregon

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Oregon is an at will state with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

Pennsylvania

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Pennsylvania follows the at-will employment doctrine, with exemptions for public policy and implied contract but lacks a covenant of good faith exception.

Rhode Island

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Rhode Island is an at will state without any exemptions.

South Carolina

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

South Carolina is an at will state with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

South Dakota

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

South Dakota is an at will state with exemptions for public policy, covenant sof good faith, and implied contracts.

Tennessee

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Tennessee is an at-will state with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

Texas

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Texas follows the at will employment doctrine, with exemptions for public policy and implied contracts but lacks a covenant of good faith exception.

Utah

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Utah is an at will state with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

Vermont

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Vermont is an at-will state with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

Virginia

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Virginia follows the at-will employment doctrine, with exemptions for public policy and implied contracts but lacks a covenant of good faith exception.

Washington

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Washington is an at will state with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

West Virginia

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

West Virginia is an at will state with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

Wisconsin

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Wisconsin is an at will state with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

Wyoming

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At-Will Employment Status

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Yes

Wyoming is an at-will state with exemptions for public policy, covenants of good faith, and implied contracts.

FAQs

What states are not at will employment ?

Montana is the only state that does not have any type of at will employment.

What states are at will states ?

The majority of states in the U.S. follow the at-will employment doctrine, including Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

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