At-will employment gives employers the right to fire anyone for almost any reason. It has been predominant in Indiana and across the United States since the late 1800s.
Many don’t know the laws exist or understand them fully, said Indianapolis employment attorney Amber Boyd Moorman. Often people who think they’ve been wrongfully terminated come to her for legal help.
“They [say] 'Amber, this is very unfair.' And I have to go through the dialogue of 'well, they can do this. They can do unfair things,'" Moorman said. “They just can’t have illegal practices.”
While the law prohibits employers from firing people for certain reasons, it ultimately falls to the former employee to seek accountability and prove their case in civil court. The American Civil Liberties Union estimates at least 150,000 people are unjustly fired every year.
There were few reasons an employer couldn’t fire someone as at-will employment first developed throughout the country.
“The first, major exception was the National Labor Relations Act of 1935,” said Matthew Finkin, University of Illinois law professor. “You can dismiss for any reason, but not for joining or supporting a union.”
Other exceptions followed in the decades after. Now, nationally, an employer can’t legally fire someone based on their race, ethnicity, religion, disability, veteran status, gender, sexual orientation or other protected class. These exceptions and a few others apply to workers in all states because they’re set in federal...
During August 2026, a series of misleading, fabricated and falsely contextualised claims circulated across social media platforms and media accounts in Bharat. The claims covered electoral rolls, ...