What is at-will employment?

Maryland, like almost every state, follows the doctrine of employment at-will. This means that by default, every private sector employee is at-will, unless the relationship is modified (generally by an employment agreement, but occasionally an employer unwittingly alters the relationship with a sloppy employee handbook). The at-will relationship can be severed at any time by either party for any lawful reason. That means employees can be fired even if they feel they have done nothing wrong, and employers cannot prevent employees from leaving, even without a notice period.

Nonetheless, even in an at-will relationship, the employer's reason for terminating an employee must not be unlawful. As a practical matter, this means that an employer cannot fire an employee for any reason that either Maryland or the federal government has determined is illegal, and, it is illegal to fire someone simply because they are a member of a protected class. The most well-known of these “protected classes” are race, gender, religion, national origin, disability, and age. The protection extends to additional categories of employees, including those who are absent due to workers’ compensation, pregnancy, and military leave, just to name a few. Employers are also prohibited from taking an “adverse action” against employees for engaging in “protected activities,” or for anything that violates “public policy.” Maryland does not have a whistleblower statute for private employees, but whistleblowers may nonetheless be protected under the Sarbanes Oxley Act if they are complaining of violations of federal law.

Back