At Will Employment

New Jersey follows the rule of at will employment which means that employees have the right to quit or resign at any time, for any reason, with or without notice. At the same time, an employer is within their rights to terminate or fire an at will employee at any time, for any reason, good or bad, or for no reason at all.

However, there are several important exceptions which prevent employers from terminating even at will employees. These exceptions include any wrongful termination or unlawful termination on the basis of discriminatory or retaliatory reasons or a termination that is in breach of an express or implied contractual agreement.

A termination can be wrongful or unlawful if the employee was discriminated against on account of some protected characteristic or was otherwise terminated or subjected to action based upon a legally protected characteristic or conduct such as race, age, gender, handicap, disability, pregnancy, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, or other legally protected characteristic.

In addition, employees cannot be fired for objecting to, refusing to participate in or disclosing illegal activities or for engaging in whistleblowing by reporting activities that are occurring in the workplace which are believed to be illegal or fraudulent.

To speak with an experienced New Jersey Employment Law Attorney, contact the Law Offices of Gregory S. Schaer, LLC, conveniently located in Monmouth County, New Jersey.