A contractual employee has a written agreement establishing their relationship with the business. The contract may define the roles and responsibilities of that position, set up their pay rate and give a range of dates for that employment. Someone may sign a contract saying that they would be employed by the company for three years, for instance.
Often, an employment contract will also say that the employee needs to be fired for cause. If the employer fires them without warning and without reason, it is a violation of the contract that stated they would have the position for the full three years. This is a wrongful termination.
At-will employees, on the other hand, can be fired at any time, just as they can quit their jobs at any time. This leads some people to believe that a wrongful termination is impossible, but the reality is that it can still take place.
An illegal reason for the termination
In most cases, these wrongful termination claims revolve around an illegal reason for that termination.
For example, even though an at-will employee can be fired at any time, they cannot be fired as retaliation for reporting safety violations, sexual harassment or illegal actions at the business. Likewise, an employee cannot be fired due to their inclusion in a protected class, such as race, religion, age, pregnancy, gender and much more.
These factors can make wrongful termination cases involving at-will employees complicated, as they need to demonstrate that their rights were still violated. It can sometimes help to work with an experienced employment attorney at this time.