# Does any state NOT have at-will employment?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-state-not-have-at-will-employment/329442>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 4, 2005, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-state-not-have-at-will-employment/329442 "2005-11-04T06:29:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\
**Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-state-not-have-at-will-employment/329442/1 "2005-11-04T06:29:47Z")

</div>

Does any state in the Union _not_ have at-will employment? What about Canada?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\
**Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-state-not-have-at-will-employment/329442/2 "2005-11-04T13:00:49Z")

</div>

This site gives a pretty clear explanation of why there isn’t a clearcut answer by state in the US.

[http://employeeissues.com/at\_will\_employment.htm](http://employeeissues.com/at_will_employment.htm)

Not sure about Canada.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\
**Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-state-not-have-at-will-employment/329442/3 "2005-11-04T14:03:35Z")

</div>

Basic answer: Yes. Exceptions to the doctrine vary by state. [http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2001/01/art1full.pdf](http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2001/01/art1full.pdf) (reviewing law nationwide).

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\
**Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-state-not-have-at-will-employment/329442/4 "2005-11-04T14:05:25Z")

</div>

According to Wikipedia, in Canada, employment for an indefinite term can only be terminated on “reasonable notice” or for “cause”. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At\_will\_employment](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_will_employment)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\
**Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-state-not-have-at-will-employment/329442/5 "2005-11-04T14:09:32Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> First off, dismissing an employee who has committed no wrong without any compensation is as unthinkable in Canada as Thanksgiving in November. At-will employment—as it is known in the U.S.—is effectively barred by Canadian employment laws. So, how to terminate an employee? Generally, there are two choices—either locate evidence of just cause, or pay the employee to go.

[http://labourrelations.org/](http://labourrelations.org/)

Was going to copy and paste more, but it is a short article, and that just would not be fair.