In California, an employee is presumed to be "at-will" in the absence of specific agreement otherwise. "At-will" employment means that an employee can quit his employment at any time with or without cause and with or without notice; the same employee can also be terminated by the employer for any reason, no reason or arbitrary reason with or without notice, except that terminating an employee for discriminatory or retaliatory reason is illegal.
Most but not all employees in California are "at-will", and certainly most employees of private employers are employed at will. The main exceptions are the unionized workers, whose relationship with the employer is governed by a collective bargaining agreement that usually limits the employer's right to terminate an employee and requires "just cause" for any discipline, including termination. The exceptions also include most government employees and many nurses, teachers and other professionals, as well as many laborers who are unionized. And of course, employees who sign an employment contract that provides for a term employment for a specific period of time usually also cannot be terminated before the contract expires unless a certain agreed upon event occurs (such as misconduct or "just cause").
A somewhat illusory term at workplace is "probationary period". If you are an at-will employee at a private company, that concept is pretty much meaningless as it makes no difference to your employment status, unless the employer specifically states in its policies that you have some kind of permanent worker status after you successfully complete the probationary period. Most private employers, however, make it very clear that even when you complete your probationary period, you still remain an at-will employee. In that case, your probation never really ends as you still can be terminated at any time and for any or no reason, as noted above. Usually, the term "probationary period" has greater meaning in public sector employment, where an employee has way fewer reinstatement rights if he is dismissed during the probationary period, rather than after becoming a permanent civil service employee.
Law Office of Arkady Itkin - San Francisco & Sacramento Injury and Employment Lawyer
We represent employees and employers in employment and wrongful termination cases, as well as victims of serious injuries in San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, San Jose, Palo Alto, San Mateo and throughout Northern California.
