At Will Employment Laws by State

January 13, 2020

In the United States, at-will employment is a commonly accepted labor practice – every state and the District of Columbia enforce at-will employment policies in some form. However, some states have exceptions to these laws, in order to give employees more rights against potentially advantageous employers.

Which states have exceptions to at-will employment? With assistance from data visualization firm 1Point21 Interactive, we researched this topic, creating interactive maps detailing these exceptions.

What is At-Will Employment?

At its simplest form, at-will employment states that any employee can be dismissed or fired without prior justification or warning – as long as the reason is not illegal.

This means that any employee hired can be easily fired without prior notice or even a good reason, as long as they aren’t wrongfully terminated, e.g. against laws such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

What Are the Difference Types of Exceptions

At-will employment gives employees few protections from sudden termination from their employers. In order to combat this, varying exceptions have been passed in each state to empower employees who feel they may have been wrongfully terminated.

There are three types of exceptions to at-will employment laws: public policy, implied contract, and covenant of good faith.

Public Policy Exceptions by State

The public policy exception states that an employer may not dismiss an employee if firing them violates any established public policy. In this case, public policy refers to any generally accepted common practices or state or federal statutes. This includes terminating an employee for:

Reporting someone who may have violated a law
Refusing to break the law on behalf of the employer
Acting int eh public’s interest, such as reporting to jury duty
Exercising their rights under the law.

42 states and the District of Columbia recognize public policy as an exception – only 8 do not have the exception.

However, it’s important to note that some states do not make an exception for public policy because other previously established statutes already cover parts of the exception. For example, although Maine has no public policy exception to at-will employment, some previously established statutes give employees protections similar to the public policy provisions seen in other states.

Implied Contract Exceptions by State

Under an implied contract exception, an employer is not permitted to dismiss an employee if an implied contract exists between both to infer that they are not hired on an at-will basis. Under this exception, there is no express written contact that actually states this, but rather an understanding of the company’s policies that indicates this – usually in the form of an employee handbook or something similar.

37 states and the District of Columbia enforce an implied contract exception. However, it is widely established that proving the terms of an implied contract are often incredibly difficult, with the burden of proof falling on the fired employee.

Covenant of Good Faith Exceptions by State

Also known as an “implied-in-law” contract, the covenant of good faith and fair dealing exception states that employers may only terminate employees based on just cause and good faith. This exception protects employees who feel they may have been terminated in bad faith; examples of this include:

Firing an employee shortly before they are retired, in order to avoid paying retirement benefits
Dismissing an employee to prevent paying them a bonus that they are owed.

11 states currently have exceptions on the basis of covenant of good faith. However, successfully filing a wrongful termination suit based on this exception is often incredibly difficult, as it can be truly complicated to determine a company’s true motivations for firing an employee.

All At-Will Employment Exemptions By State

Summing it all up, this table lists the status of each state regarding At-Will Employment exemptions for public policy, implied contracts and covenant of good faith.

State	Public Policy	Implied Contracts	Covenant of Good Faith
Alabama	No	Yes	Yes
Alaska	Yes	Yes	Yes
Arizona	Yes	Yes	Yes
Arkansas	Yes	Yes	No
California	Yes	Yes	Yes
Colorado	Yes	Yes	No
Connecticut	Yes	Yes	No
Delaware	Yes	No	Yes
District of Columbia	Yes	Yes	No
Florida	No	No	No
Georgia	No	No	No
Hawaii	Yes	Yes	No
Idaho	Yes	Yes	Yes
Illinois	Yes	Yes	No
Indiana	Yes	No	No
Iowa	Yes	Yes	No
Kansas	Yes	Yes	No
Kentucky	Yes	Yes	No
Louisiana	No	No	No
Maine	No	Yes	No
Maryland	Yes	Yes	No
Massachusetts	Yes	No	Yes
Michigan	Yes	Yes	No
Minnesota	Yes	Yes	No
Mississippi	Yes	Yes	No
Missouri	Yes	No	No
Montana	Yes	No	Yes
Nebraska	No	Yes	Yes
Nevada	Yes	Yes	No
New Hampshire	Yes	Yes	No
New Jersey	Yes	Yes	No
New Mexico	Yes	Yes	No
New York	No	Yes	No
North Carolina	Yes	No	No
North Dakota	Yes	Yes	No
Ohio	Yes	Yes	No
Oklahoma	Yes	Yes	No
Oregon	Yes	Yes	No
Pennsylvania	Yes	No	No
Rhode Island	No	No	No
South Carolina	Yes	Yes	No
South Dakota	Yes	Yes	No
Tennessee	Yes	Yes	No
Texas	Yes	No	No
Utah	Yes	Yes	Yes
Vermont	Yes	Yes	No
Virginia	Yes	No	No
Washington	Yes	Yes	No
West Virginia	Yes	Yes	No
Wisconsin	Yes	Yes	No
Wyoming	Yes	Yes	Yes

Montana’s At-Will Employment Policy

Montana is the only state in the United States who does not operate on a traditional at-will employment policy. True at-will employment is only enforced for employees who are in an introductory probationary period; non-probationary employees have further protections from the Wrongful Discharge from Employment Act. This states that a dismissal is wrongful if:

It was in retaliation for the employee refusing to violate public policy or for reporting violations in public policy.
The discharge was in bad faith and the employee has passed the probationary period.
The employer explicitly violated any written provisions in the employee’s contract or policy.

Essentially, an employer must have a good, justifiable reason to dismiss an employee.

Closing Thoughts

Although many states share similar exceptions to at-will employment policies, these statutes may be interpreted or enforced differently based on the state’s general policies and past precedents. As such, it is highly recommended to consult an attorney specializing in employment law about any questions regarding any disputes that may have occurred due to at-will employment laws.