The Difference Between Contract and At-Will Employment

At-will employees also cannot be terminated for exercising certain rights and responsibilities. For example, a person
summoned for jury duty has a legal responsibility to report as ordered. He or she cannot be terminated for responding
to that summons. The employee cannot be terminated for sitting on a jury, either.
One last thing to consider about at-will employment is something known as the 'implied contract'. An implied contract
can exist even if no written contract is proffered. A good example is a clause in a company's worker manual describing a
90-day probationary period for new employees. That clause implies continued employment after 90 days which, under
the law, is an implied contract.
Avoiding Issues at Termination
HR experts recommend being very careful about contract and HR policy language to avoid issues at termination. They
also recommend that terminations always be preceded by an adequate amount of time during which an employee's
behavior is addressed. Everything the employer does in an attempt to rectify an unacceptable situation should be
documented.
Employees who believe they have been terminated without just cause do have the right to seek legal recourse. That's
why clear language and proper documentation are so necessary. They are the only things capable of protecting
employers against such litigation.
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