The At-Will Rule and Its Exceptions

At-will employment was not historically a given in United States law. But by the late nineteenth century, following a prominent treatise, most states adopted the approach that employees generally were at will--that is, they could be fired or leave for any reason or no reason at all, so long as that reason was not otherwise forbidden by law. This rule can be contracted around but rarely is: most workers in the United States remain at will

Employees often do not believe themselves to be at will--in part because employers rarely fire high performers. But employers make a considerable effort to keep in place at will and protect themselves from suit when someone is fired for what seems to be an unfair reason, or one unrelated to the employee's performance. Why are employers invested in the at will rule? Is it justifed, or should it be reformed? Does it matter that many comparable developed democracies do not have an at-will default? Consider these questions as we read the next case.