In the US you can be fired "without reason or for any reason." We explain why

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Tech companies have made headlines lately for laying off hundreds and even thousands of people.

Twitter was first, cutting hundreds of employees overnight on November 3, and Meta followed suit, announcing that it would lay off more than 11,000.

In late November, DoorDash announced that it would lay off 1,250 people.

Although some workers affected by these latest cuts may be protected by the federal WARN Act, under which those deemed part of a mass layoff are owed 60 days written notice and their regular wages and benefits during that time , others might not be.

In fact, with

America's

The United States is one of the few countries in the world with such a system.

Klaus Vedfelt |

DigitalVision |

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This is how at-will employment works, why it is the de facto system in the United States, and how other countries manage their workforce.

You can be fired for any reason or no reason

Generally speaking, at-will employment “means you can be fired for any reason or no reason,” says Najah Farley, a senior attorney with the National Employment Law Project.

You can be fired “because the boss had a bad day,” says Arick Fudali, partner and managing attorney at the Bloom Firm civil rights firm, as an example.

"Because he's in a bad mood.

Because you didn't laugh at his joke."

None of these cases would necessarily qualify as an illegal termination, as unfair as that may seem.  

"Similarly, you can resign for any reason," he says.  

Montana is the only US state that is technically not at-will, and employers there need to have "good cause" for firing, according to its labor department.

However, in 2021 changes were introduced to the Montana Wrongful Termination Law, giving employers more leeway in this area.

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There are several exceptions for which an employee cannot be fired.

Here are four of the most important:

The delivery company Fedex announces in one of its stores in New York that it is looking for new workers, on October 21, 2021.Corbis via Getty Images

The law does not require compensation

Another component of the US at-will employment system is that, under its auspices, once an employee is terminated, they are

or any other similar provision by their former employer.

“If you show up to work at 9 and get fired at 10, you're supposed to get paid for your hour,” plus any additional hours you've worked before, Farley says.

But, in most cases, that's all they legally owe him, regardless of how long he's been there or what kind of contributions he's made.

There are several cases in which a company may owe compensation to a former employee:

• Under the WARN Act, those involved in what is considered a mass layoff or plant closure must be given 60 days' written notice of layoff and their salary and benefits maintained during that time, even if They no longer have to go to their workplace.

• Members of some unions may also be entitled to severance pay, depending on what that union has negotiated with the employer.

• Some individual contracts may also stipulate indemnities.

  “If your contract says, 'if you're fired in the first six months, you'll get this amount of money,' you'll get that amount of money,” says Fudali.

  Senior executives often have these types of contracts.

Do you need to work?

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At-will employment is rare worldwide

Most countries in the world do not have an at-will employment system.

In many OECD countries, for example, "the employer has to go through many more steps to fire a worker," says Annelies Goger, a fellow at the Brookings Institution.

In Japan, for example, the possibility of firing an employee is highly restricted, and in some cases it is considered a last resort after cutting the salaries of senior managers, ending company hiring and encouraging early retirement, according to the international employment law firm L&E Global.

In New Zealand, except in cases of serious misconduct, the employer must notify the employee of his upcoming dismissal, according to the Government, which stipulates that a notice of 2 to 4 weeks "is usually considered fair."

The employer must pay the employee until the end of his notice period.

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Why, then, is this the de facto doctrine in the United States?

In part, the system is the result of

,” says Ludmila Praslova, a psychology professor at Vanguard University of Southern California.

It gives companies great freedom, and they have successfully lobbied to keep it.

“I think a lot of the reason we put so much emphasis on at-will employment here is because of the history of racial discrimination and slavery,” Farley says.

It is a centuries-old tradition of devaluing labor and workers that influences the attitude of employers even today, she says.

Finally, America's strong individualistic culture comes into play.

“You have to take care of yourself and if you're successful, you're successful, if you're not, you're not,” Praslova says of how this individualism works.