Human Resource Blog

Does North Carolina recognize “Employment At Will”

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Is NC one of the states that falls under the ‘Employment At Will” policy? If so, can an employer actually use it without repercussions if not based on any type of discrimination?

In most cases, yes.North Carolina recognizes employment at will.

Here is the fact sheet on employment at will on  the info on the North Carolina Department of Labor website.

Most states in the US recognize employment at will. However, a dozen states including California, put severe restrictions on it for employers.

North Carolina is not one of the states that restricts employment at will.

Employment at will simply means that an employee can quit at any time, for any reason or for no reason, with or without notice. By the same token, an employer can fire a workers at any time, with or without a reason.

Any employment contract or union contract may make employment at will invalid.

Verbal promises by a supervisor or employer may also negate the employment at will doctrine. For example, an employer who said, “I would never fire you without a reason” to an employee may well have given up that right.

Obviously employment at will cannot be used in a way that discriminates against workers based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age (over 40), disability or pregnancy.

In North Carolina, it is also illegal for an employer to fire a worker in retaliation for reporting an illegal act, or a suspected illegal act. The Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act (REDA), is administered by the NC Department of Labor’s Employment Discrimination Bureau (EDB). REDA protects employees against retaliation by an employer when the employee files a complaint of wrongdoing to various state and federal agencies. These agencies include OSHA, MSHA, the Workers’ Compensation Board, the NC Department of Labor, etc.

Employees also cannot be fired due to genetic testing (including having the sickle cell trait) being a National Guard member or having a child in the NC juvenile court system.

In many cases, an employee who is fired for any reason other than gross misconduct, is eligible to collect unemployment benefits.