Can My Boss Fire Me at Any Time for Any Reason? What is “at will”? (2023)
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At-Will”. California is an “at-will” employment state. What does this mean? In most cases, it means that your boss can fire you at any time for almost any reason or no reason at all. She can fire you because she
- doesn’t like you
- thinks you’re too tall or short
- thinks you talk too much or too little
- is upset you didn’t say “Good Morning” to her in the right way
- is mad you made the coffee too strong and forgot the cream
- dislikes your shirt
- thinks you’re too fat or thin
- thinks you’re too ugly or good-looking
- mistakenly thinks you did something that you didn’t
- is in a bad mood and you happen to be the closest one to her
- and on and on.
But take heart. There are a lot of restrictions on your boss’s power to fire you at will. As the California Supreme Court said in a landmark decision, “”Even where employment is at will, numerous federal and state statutes already impose express limitations on the right of an employer to discharge at will.” [Foley v. Interactive Data Corp., 47 Cal.3d 654, 665, fn. 4.]
Contract. If you and your employer signed a contract regarding your employment, you should examine it carefully. Look for a paragraph called “Termination” which should spell out your boss’s right to fire you. With luck, your contract might say that your boss can only fire you “for cause” (a good reason).
Employee Handbook/Policies. If your employer has employee handbooks, manuals or policies, you should examine it carefully. Courts have held that these documents are to be treated as contracts between you and your employer. Look for a section called “Termination” and see what your rights are.
Union Agreements. If you’re in a union, they may have entered into a collective bargaining agreement with your employer that lays out the circumstances under which your boss can fire you. That agreement may be binding on your boss.
Illegal Reasons. Your boss cannot fire you (or force you to resign) for illegal reasons. Following is just a partial list of illegal reasons:
- in harassment based on or discrimination against your “race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, marital status, sex, age, or sexual orientation” [California Fair Employment & Housing Act; Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964]
- in retaliation for your blowing the whistle on illegal or improper conduct [California Labor Code 1102.5; California Health & Safety Code 1278.5; etc.]
- in retaliation for your taking family medical leave [California Family Rights Act; U.S. Family Medical Leave Act]
- in retaliation for your applying for workers’ compensation for a work-related injury [California Labor Code 132a]
- in retaliation for your union activity or participating in union investigations [National Labor Relations Act]
- for participating in an investigation for discrimination or harassment [California Fair Employment & Housing Act; Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964]
If you think any of the above applies to your situation, talk to a lawyer right away.
What do people think about this? I was hired part-time to provide certain supervision to employees who do not have the credentials to be on their job without supervision from someone with my certification. No contract was signed, but I have been doing the job for a couple of years. I DID sign a contract with a graduate program to supervise a student on-site here (as a piece of my part-time duties here). I came in today and was told by the SUPERVISEE, “Oh, didn’t they tell you? You have been replaced.” Seriously, is that legal?
i believe that is what they said i might be wrong have been before.
Wrong, in the state of California a manager has to have a valid reason to fire you, late to many times normally 3 days no call no show, steeling ect. States like Utah are at-will. I’ve worked in many states and I know labor lawyers so in California you have rights don’t let big coporation mess with you.
I agree with most of what you say. However, California IS an at-will state. So like in Utah, terminations do not require a valid reason. They only a require a non-discriminatory and non-retaliatory reason. For instance, in California, your boss could fire you for making the coffee wrong, or wearing a tie that is too bright, or parting your hair the wrong way. As long as they aren’t singling you out because of a discriminatory or retaliatory reason.
Bolony. I was terminated simply because a T.O. didn’t like me. I was always on time and even early to work, I always did what I was suppose to do, and furthermore the reason given to me at a very informal “Axing” in the parking lot, was that a T.O. didn’t like me….this was after that same T.O. made a sex discriminatory remark towards me a few days prior…. This is no joke. Employers in California and any other state that allows the “At-Will” right, certainly get away breaking any one of those laws that are supposed to protect an employee
Hello, I have a question! My employer paid me salary from 2013 till the end of 2015, then we all got changed to hourly.. but when I was salary I did not take a single break!!!! Now that I am hourly Its mandatory to take a break before the 5 the hour!! Back when I was salary we went to meetings after work and we would be out there till 8:30 9:00 pm now no more they don’t want to pay overtime!! And today I’m still not able to take break even when I clock in.. it’s insane and I don’t know what I should do
Your question conflicted itself at the end. Who can answer such a confusing question?
I work for a company called masonite been just a little over 3 months i started on swing shift but had to change due to family situations now i work graveyard which we never work ot now all of a sudden due to morning shift being short ppl the sup threatened us if we dont stay we can get points added which leads to termination i told them my family situation doesn’t fit into their ot so i cant work ot is it ok for them to threaten us with termination oh by the way i didnt sign any paper saying i had to change my living status to work please help
My boss texted me saying I did no call no show on my day off. She said again.. I’ve never done no call no show in the whole months I’ve been there. And she also said that she take that as a resignation.. can a file a lawsuit on them?
What if an employee from a very small business practice is not fully recovered from a personal injury? A back injury that happened outside of work. Can the employer require a full doctor release before employee comes back to work? Or cut hours until the employee is fully recovered?
what about literally being bullied and made fun of how I walked. Signs put on my back, coworkers not doing their work right and to cover their butts said I did it….to name a few things
Maggie P.U
i suggest you document, take photos or videos.
A verbal altercation and ensued to a physical one (shoving/light punches) happened between me and a coworker. The supervisor broke us up and was told to each write a incident report. We were told to go home, clock-out and told to wait for a call on what their findings will be. A week have passed. No calls have I received. Am I fired without any notice? If I was, will I still receive my remaining salary that I earned a week prior to the incident? How about my remaining accumulated PTO’s, will they give it to me?
I was engaged to a verbal altercation with a coworker and then resulted with a physical one (shoving & light punches). We were each told to write a incident report and the supervisor told me that they will get in touch after their investigation and was told to go home and clock-out. A week have passed. I did not received a call or notice. Am I fired; without any notice? If in case I was fired, are they going to give me my remaining salary a week prior to the altercation and also my remaining accumulated PTO’s?
Looking for some guidance, I have a 17yr old, that started working while she was still in school. Got a job permit through school and was hired at a fast food restaurant. There is a supervisor there that has been giving her a hard time, putting too much pressure and expecting way too much from her, but that is besides the point. This person sent her home one day because she was frustrated with her, and told her that either she clocked out at that instance or put her two weeks right at that moment. Did not schedule her to work for a whole week and for this week she only schedule her to work two hours. But that is not all, I just learned that she gave a young man working there a book on how not to be gay! I’m speechless!!!
A lady got fired over tvs coming up missing today when she told days before things were happening in the hotel rooms now its her fault because the master was lost and was told she could get her job back after they find out she had no part
she is specifically female, whereas he is commonly used for humanity in general, therefore this person is really stupid for trying so hard to be gender inclusive when really they are being gender exlusive.
Back in October 2015 I had work place injury where I cut off my left index figure. On March 4th 2916, two days of being cleared by my doctor to return to work at a 100% my employer put me on Unpaid Medical Leave for 60 days. Then expanded it on May 9th another 30 days and then on June 10th they extended my Unpaid Medical Leave for another 60 days. Can they do that?
can your boss fire you when it’s your day off but you don’t/can’t go in because it’s your day off but they want you to cover for someone else but you don’t/can’t?
Can a manager try to get me fired for applying for another position? I applied for another position at the same time my yearly performance was due. It was a complete shock that she recommended me for termination. I asked to see my file and she falsified complaints to make me look bad. termination was stopped but I had to resign because it was so uncomfortable. do I have any rights?
Can mi boss take away money from our checks if money was missing out from the register even though he never mentioned nothing to us and does not pay us for breaks lunch or over time or even holidays
My boss just advised me to report to him, instead of HR first, when it comes to reporting claims made by our employees….
Do I need to be worried about losing my job? Is it illegal for him to do that?
In California, employers have the right to establish complaint procedures, so long as they are reasonable and not designed to facilitate violations of law. If you don’t follow them, then the employer would have the right to discipline you. A word of advice: make sure you submit complaints in writing and keep a copy for yourself. If you are making a good faith, reasonable complaint about a suspected violation of law, then the employer cannot retaliate against you.
Can you be fired for something that someone else is doing? My boss wants to fire all grocery guys in my supermarket for water being stolen, not even considering the possibility it could be someone else in either the Meat, Produce, Deli, Frozen, or Dairy department. And he expects us to figure out who is stealing it and gave us permission to use violence if we think we found who did it.
If I do end up getting fired for his apparent favoritism/discrimination to my team, can I sue for wrongful termination? Would appreciate an answer back as quickly as possible. Please and thank you in advance.
A certain employee was told that he did not have to ware his safety glasses while he worked on the computer. So last Thursday morning he was working on his computer and Daisy the other HR worker told him he had to ware his safety glasses all the time. He told her that he didn’t have to ware them while at the computer, only when he left the computer work station. So she left and told the head of the HR Department Maria, what he told her. So Maria promptly got up and proceeded to approach the guy in question Francisco, and told him he needed to ware his safety glasses all the time. He responded with the same, “I was told that I didn’t have to ware my safety glasses while at the computer work station. Immediately after he told her that she went into a tirade for about 10 to 15 minutes about how he needs to ware his Safety Glasses all the time everywhere. She was yelling at him pointing fingers and throwing and flailing everywhere, belittling and besmirching him in her tirade. Every body is convinced that Maria is racist against her own race or all Hispanics. I am texting you this because I was asked to send some kind of message for this employee and many others like him. I agree with them she (Maria) the head of HR definitely needs to reassess her attitude towards Hispanics at Quality Aluminum Forge, in the City of Orange, CA.
Sincerely,
Eduardo F Rodriguez
what is an ‘at will’ employee?
and if you have a handbook which lays out company rules and various employee rights does that change the ‘at will’ employee’s status into some other type of employee?
can you let someone go if they are pregnant if you believe they are in danger of injury from lifting or other strenous work, or the need to be able to help an elderly person who has trouble getting in and out of bed and neads help due to unsteady walking?
I show up for work and as soon as i clock in my supervisor told me i was fired for failing my drug screen. He said it was possitive for meth. I knw i have not used drugs. So i asked to see the report and he said he dnt have to show it to me. He did tell me i am to work my complete 12 hr shift (we dnt get breaks and rarley get lunch time) that night and to pick up my last check on payday in 5 days. Is this legal?
No. If you are fired, your check final check has to be given to you on your final day. Not taking/being given lunches or breaks is another issue.
Can a employer threaten to fire you if you don’t show them requested paper work? Such as…planned vacation, employee called in sick 2 days prior to departure (employee was sick all week) now employer is requesting copies of airlines tickets to prove the employee lied.
Can you be fried for being lied on by someone who was retaliating against you for complaining about their work ethics. They told that I instructed them to do something that violate company policy (falsifying documents) but he didn’t sign the document that I was accused of instructing him to sign.
They can (and will) fire you for anything they want… BUT! They will only “officially” fire you for some fabricated legally ok reason. Not for being a great gay person or a fine black man or a sexually unreceptive girl… They want everyone to feel powerless and alone because once all the employees unite together to fight for fair working conditions they lose their power. Unions are one of the only things that stop them dead in their tracks from stomping all over you “at will”
They can (and will) fire you for anything they want… BUT! They will only “officially” fire you for some fabricated legally ok reason. Not for being a great gay person or a fine black man or a prudish (moderator won’t let the S word be used here) unreceptive girl… They want everyone to feel powerless and alone because once all the employees unite together to fight for fair working conditions they lose their power. Unions are one of the only things that stop them dead in their tracks from stomping all over you “at will”
Legally , is being pregnant a serious medical condition?
Under the ADA, it’s t but I think CA considers it as a disability.
If right that the company need a personal information about the insurance if you deny the insurance that the company is ofering to you?? Is it legal or ilegal?
if a temp only worked a few days, we never got them into our payroll system, how is that handled?
I put in my two weeks bc I didn’t know what else to do due to substance abuse, and 3 days prior to my last day I decided to email my manager that I needed to seek medical help and left at 11am. They terminated me that day after i left and emailed me asking where to send my last check. I am in CA and heard you cant be fired for this. Is this true?
They can fire you for no reason (at will employment) but if it was because they were discriminating against you or because you were sick and had to leave then yes, it was illegal for them to fire you. Did they tell you the reason why they fired you? You should try to talk to a lawyer, there’s many lawyers that pffer free legal consultations.
What if an employer is having an illicit affair can the wife make a complaint?
I just got recently laid off. But I don’t think its a good reason. I’m 7 1/2 months pregnant and I think that’s why. But his reason was because of upcoming cost funds “obamacare & mandatory minimum wag . Didn’t obamacare happen already? Wt
My employer forces everyone to work at least 1-2 hours overtime for free every day. Whoever complains or leaves on time gets laid off with no reason or paper work saying why, but everyone knows why. The boss says since we are hired “at will” he doesn’t need a reason to fire anyone. If I was fired for leaving at the time I’m supposed to can that be considered retaliation?
My daughter was fired this morning for no apparent reason. They did not give her a reason just said this is not working out. She worked for a record label in LA . Are they required to give her a reason for the termination. She was never written up or even talked to. the HR director stated she was as shocked as my daughter. She then alluded to something being said that was confidential but wouldn’t say what. Does my daughter have any recourse?
If she was an at will employee, then no they are not required to give any reason. If you think they retaliated against here then the termination would be illegal
I got fired for telling my boss my head hurts n I cannot stay n work overtime is this illegal????
I have a question I was told that I could take time off for a personal matter and then they replace me and weren’t going to tell me.is this illegal I know many things they do is but is this?
My boss and i had an argument and he fired me due to i refuse to lie for him. **Can i apply for unemployment? Nothing is written down on paper, but my co-worker was present when the incident happened.
We were both sexually harassed at work verbally (He is married with 2 kids). He asked one of his employees how much for 1 night to stay at his place. Complimented on what a SEXY top i was wearing, kept staring. It was a basic red and black tank top. We were forced to and be very careful of wearing cover ups and loose clothing at all times.
Were forced to lie on legal papers. Mostly pretend we are someone else who we are not, quantities, or money amounts received.
He was caught by me pocketing cash at least 3 times (invoices were never created, he just kept the money until our client had problem with product and comes back for refund).
What i am worried about is there’s no proof on papers of these things happening, other than partial notes i took here and there. Please help.
my understanding is that if you were fired (regardless of the reason) you are eligible for unemployment
You should have been fired, you’re ab idiot for letting that happen. Take this as a life lesson not to be stupid anymore, and report everything like that
you are the idiot. there’s no HR department and owner is over seas. get your info right before posting anything. you make urself look like a dbag and an idiot.
Can someone explain me when is an employee actually harassed, intimidated, discriminated against and what can they ever do to stand for their rights and if they have any rights anymore in America. Seems like in today’s world, the companies and managers have all the rights for any actions without any repercussion.
What happened if I am told if I don’t sign for the employee handbook I can’t work until i sign and inside the handbook there is a at will statement under the Termination Segment in the Handbook
So on that note, once you’re terminated how soon are employers required to pay you for hours worked?
They have to pay you the same day they terminate you. If they don’t they would owe you money for each day they are late with your check.
It seems to me that we as laborers have little to nothing we can do in most situations. I guess that whole “The 1 percent controls the country” idea is true. What do we do?
Stand up for your rights, make a written complaint, talk to a lawyer and see what can be done. California has some of the most employee-protective laws in the country.
They only talk to people with money.
We are becoming the third or even the forth world country citizens
, worse than the current third world countries. Only if we all MINORITIES( the known middle and low class people) come together on the roads and fight back for our rights, nothing is going to happen.
Yes, you are right. For many years business group’s lobbyists have pushed to loosen what they see as confining and restrictive rules for managing employees. I can remember reading stories about employee misconduct that was outrageous and yet very little or nothing could be done by their employers. That argument resonated with legislators. Especially since they threatened to leave the state unless some reform was made. Faced with loss of tax revenue they capitulated. Besides, many were business owners themselves and had no problem understanding the argument. Now, I’m reading where the outrageous behavior is coming from employers and their managers.
I think the problem today is mostly about supply and demand. There are many people still looking for work right now despite the claims about low unemployment rates. So, employers feel no great compulsion to treat employees well. After all, if you aren’t happy there is someone else very willing to take your spot. These days it pays to be the very best employee you can be…sigh.
So, what do we do? I think there are two things we can do. In the short term consult an attorney to find out what protection or protections you may have. Knowledge is power so arm yourself. Keep your opinions to yourself and try to remain silent so that you don’t call attention to yourself. The second thing to do is, well, vote! If you have concerns about what is happening in the legislature regarding employees rights then vote for someone that represents what you believe in. Frankly, if one isn’t prepared to participate in the voting process then one shouldn’t complain about the outcome.
just my .02
Hello my brother die last Thursday,i call into work for absence,my manager said take how every days u need,so i forget to call in Sunday and the Market manager was trying to fire me,he didn’t but i got a write up,
When your job fire you are they suppose to give you papers on why they are firing you or do uou have to sign documents even if they are a privately owned company im from michigan
California is an at-will state, meaning that the employer doesn’t need to give or have any reason to fire you (so long as the reason isn’t an illegal one, like discrimination or harassment or retaliation). There are exceptions, of course. For instance, if there is a union collective bargaining agreement or written policy that says otherwise.
The management from my experience can force you to do anything by threatening with being in subordinate and firing you immediately. And you will do anything to keep your paycheck coming.
You misspelled he*
Can you be released from a probation ( probation is 1 year) without getting any performance evaluation. I’ve worked for 6.5 months when I was let go and was told since I was on probation I do not have any right to appeal or contest their decisions. Also, CA is “at will ” state. PLease advise since most employment applications specially for the government asks “If you’ve been terminated or released from probation, or resigned before you were terminated”. Released from probation sounds like you did NOT pass probation. I felt like I can’t fin another job because of this question.
I have a contract that states that if I am not being let go for “cause” then they have to give me 30 days notice plus one month of severance pay. My last day is on Friday and my employer is telling me that I will not get my final check until Monday and they are telling me that I will remain on payroll for one month as my severance. Is this legal or do they have to give me my final check to include severance. I am feeling a bit bullied. Please help. Thanks.
I was fired the day after emailing my boss informing him that I do not appreciate the way he is treating me (discrimination). He has outwardly admitted to me on more than one occasion that he uses me to gain trust from his clients as I am a pretty Caucasian woman, and I will bring him more clients. I also asked him in this email why my raise will not be applied to the up and coming paycheck as promised. Might I add that this was my 2nd raise in less then 3 months, so apparently, I was doing my job and more as asked. Also informed him on 3 separate occasions attempting to get him to acknowledge the “IRS standard mileage rates.” I drove my own car, 5 days a week out on the field inspecting other peoples work/sales. There were days that I would drive upwards of 200+ miles and he would only reimburse me $20 for the day. The 2015 standard mileage reimbursement is .5750 cents a mile. He also admitted to me that he only hires janitors within his race. Might I mention that one day when he and I were out on a job, he told me that he cleats on his wife every weekend (he also owns a night club/bar). Once we were driving down the street and there was a lady jogging down the street. He, out loud said “WOW! Those are some big t**s!”(fill in the blank). I told him that is not cool, and that she is just out exercising. He has zero respect for American woman, and he has made this very clear with his behavior. There is so much more I could say pertaining to this person. I should also mention that I worked for this business for a short 3 months and 1 week. He has also admitted to having illegals working for him. On numerous occasions I would be subjected to him and his friends speaking their language in the office while giggling and looking into my office. This man has broken so many different employment laws right in front of me with another employee. I know that I have a case, though I would love to get some insight from the population. Thank you. By the way, I live in Washington State, and worked in Oregon State. Not sure if this makes any difference.
They will never ever communicate in writing for you to have any evidences against them yet they can force you by harassing and intimidating you of being insubordinate.
Where I work there’s family members that work at the same place
Also there a upper management that had a affair with a employee and had a baby and work at the same location
I am a mortgage underwriter and started a new job with a mortgage company. In my offer letter, I agreed to the possibility of working overtime–which was communicated to me during my interview as “voluntary.” I signed my offer letter excepting the terms outlined. This week, a memorandum has been issued which is attempting to revise the terms of employment which essentially mandates overtime to be worked in order to complete minimum work product requirements not completed within a 40-hour week. In addition, the company has outlined within this memorandum what constitutes minimum work product requirements. The minimum work product requirements cannot be reasonably met within a 40-hour work week which essentially would require me to work overtime to complete the minimum requirements–something I am not willing to do.
I am considering not signing this document and holding my employer to the agreement originally signed to in my offer letter. Can I legally do this without risk of termination?
I’m a delivery driver with a same-day delivery courier company. Aside from the $9.00/hour pay that we get, we were promised to be paid mileage at $0.25/mile. I’ve been working with them for almost 3 months now but I noticed the mileage they promised are not being paid fully. Imagine being paid only $87.00 for 700 plus miles. When I tried to figure out how they arrived at the $87.00 figure it was as if they were just giving us back the gas expenses we have advanced in making our deliveries. When I asked about this, the Operations Manager answered that they only pay from the pick-up point (A) to the delivery point (B). Is this legal? It looks like the drivers has to shoulder gas expenses going to point A. Please advise what to do.
There is a set mileage fee for 54.5 cents per mile.
Can you refuse to sign a write up if you disagree with it??
Yes you can. Put in your statement and don’t sign what so ever if you don’t agree. If they say you can lose your job over that, remind them of the legal term coercion.
I complained about a coworker, she is lazy and does not help at all. She takes care of the supervisor child, and the supervisor defends her a lot, saying we should help her out that we should be a team, but there has been customers and other employees complained about her attitude and lazyness. I called and complained about this with someone superior than her and now the supervisor told me that its the complainer who has to leave and that by calling our superior was wrong and that they dont care and to think about leaving the job if i dont like it.