At-will employment is very common in the United States. While it does mean that you, as an employee, are pretty much free to leave whenever you want, the big downside is that it greatly reduces your job security. Your employer can potentially end your employment whenever they choose.
If this happens to you, you might consider that the best use of your energy is to find another employer who does want you. While that is a sensible attitude, it’s also important to reflect on why the company let you go. Sometimes, the reason an employer terminates someone is unlawful.
In retaliation
As an employee, you have certain rights protected by law — for example, the right to take the breaks the law allows you, to alert the authorities if your employer is breaching safety laws and to receive at least the minimum wage. Some employers do not like employees who speak up when something is not right. If they fire you for exercising your protected rights, that is illegal.
As discrimination
You might wonder why your employer let you go as opposed to someone else or why the company fired a particular set of people instead of others. You might conclude that it was based on race, skin color, age, sex, pregnancy, disability, sexual orientation or another protected characteristic. If it was, that’s illegal.
If you question an employer on why they let you go, they are unlikely to admit to it being a retaliatory or discriminatory decision. Legal guidance may be necessary to expose the truth of the matter and seek appropriate compensation.
