The Manager's Guide to HR, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 9

FIRING ANDSEPARATION

INTRODUCTION

Employment at will is the fundamental law in all states except Montana, where an employee may be terminated only for cause. Under at-will employment, the employer can discharge an employee for any reason or no reason at all, with or without notice, and the employee can leave the employer’s employ at any time, for any or no reason at all, with or without notice.

Carefully note that virtually every collective bargaining agreement (union contract) will have provisions preventing the employer from firing a union member except for cause.

An employer’s right to fire at will is a powerful privilege that allows termination of unproductive, marginal employees without having to laboriously build a file to support ...