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There is no contract required between an employer and the employee in the event of an at-will employment. Either the employee or the employer may end the employment without being held responsible for anything. The services of an employee can be cancelled with or without a reason and similarly the employee also may quit the job without a reason. A few questions regarding at-will employment have been answered below: Q. What are the rights of an at-will employee?
Employment rights of an employee are minimal in the absence of an employment contract. The employer may change the remuneration that is being paid, may change the hours of employment or timings of the shift or even terminate the employment without notice. However, as per Federal law, the employer should not discriminate based on race, gender, age, religion or disability. An at-will employee may not get the same kind of treatment, salary hike or a promotion that an employee with a contract might get. Q. In lieu of severance pay, can an at-will employee be forced to resign from employment?
At-will employees, as per law, need not be offered anything for resigning and the employee can be asked to leave without a reason. Employees are not entitled to unemployment benefits in the event that an employee resigns. The employer might be trying to stop the employee from gaining unemployment benefits by asking the employee to resign. In the event that the organization’s policy states that a severance payment needs to be made; then the organization may need to adhere to the policy. Q. If an employee feels that the termination of employment was unjust, then can the employee sue the employer in the state of New York?
An employer can cancel the employment of an employee without providing any reason in the state of New York as it is an at-will employment state. It is up to the employer to retain an employee or not as there is no contract and likewise the employee has no employment rights. Employment can be terminated without any notice being provided or without any counseling procedures being followed. The employee may find some legal help if the company has a policy formulated in this regard. These policies could be considered similar to that of an employment contract by the courts in New York and in the event that the policies require a reason for the termination of employment; then the at-will status will be superseded by the company policies. Q. Can an employer base his/her decision to substitute a qualified employee with that of an employee with a lesser qualification due to the employee’s race?
As per the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it is unlawful to discriminate against a person based on race, gender, religion, and disability. If such discrimination takes place then one can file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for racial discrimination. Q. Due to short or long term disability of an employee, can employment be terminated?
In a 12 month period, protected unpaid leave up to 12 weeks is allowed under the FMLA provision for an eligible employee. However, the organization’s HR should be contacted to verify how the 12 month period is calculated. The job protection under the FMLA laws will cease to exist once the 12 week period is over. Employment can be terminated in the event that a company policy is non-existent with regards to granting leaves beyond the 12 week period as per FMLA. You may ask an employment lawyer any questions about at will employment if you are an “at will” employee and do not understand anything about at will employment.
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