At will employment clause: sample and the state exceptions

Sample clause

Written for an offer letter and employee handbook of Juniper Street Coffee Roasters, a fictional coffee roaster in Portland, Oregon.

At Will Employment. (a) Your employment with Juniper Street Coffee Roasters is at will. Either you or the Company may end the employment relationship at any time, with or without cause and with or without notice, for any lawful reason. (b) Nothing in this letter, the Employee Handbook, any policy, or any statement by a manager creates a contract of employment for a specific period or changes the at will relationship. (c) The at will nature of your employment may be changed only by a written agreement signed by you and the Company's Chief Executive Officer that expressly refers to this clause. (d) This clause does not limit any right you have under federal, state or local law.

Sample wording, not legal advice.

Variants

What to negotiate

• Implied contracts from handbooks

  Courts in many states have found that a handbook promising termination only for cause, or setting out a progressive discipline process as mandatory, created an implied contract limiting at will employment. A clear disclaimer, repeated in the offer letter and the handbook, and wording that describes discipline steps as guidance rather than guarantees, reduce that risk.

• Public policy and statutory exceptions

  At will does not allow dismissal for an unlawful reason. Federal and state laws forbid dismissal for discrimination, retaliation for complaints, taking protected leave or union activity, and most states recognise a public policy exception, for example dismissing an employee for refusing to break the law or for serving on a jury. The clause's last paragraph acknowledges those rights.

• Who can change the status

  Managers sometimes promise a job for life or until the project ends. The sample limits any change to a written agreement signed by the chief executive that refers to the clause, which makes it hard for an oral promise to override at will status. Employees who are offered security in a role should ask for it in writing in that form.

The risk of leaving it out

Leaving out an at will statement does not remove the default rule, but it gives employees more room to argue that an offer letter, handbook or promise created job security, especially where documents describe discipline procedures or permanent positions. Disputes over an implied contract are expensive even when the employer wins.

At will and its exceptions by state

Every US state except Montana starts from at will employment. Montana's Wrongful Discharge from Employment Act, in Title 39, chapter 2, part 9 of the Montana Code, requires good cause for dismissal after an employee completes a probationary period. Elsewhere, three common law exceptions apply in different combinations: the public policy exception, recognised in most states; the implied contract exception, recognised in many, based on handbooks or assurances; and an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, recognised in only a minority of states. Statutory protections, such as anti discrimination and whistleblower laws, apply everywhere. Law checked on 21 October 2026. This page explains how the clause works and is not legal advice.

What at will does and does not mean

At will means no reason is needed to end employment, and no notice is required unless a law or contract says otherwise. It does not mean any reason is lawful. Dismissing someone because of race, sex, age, disability, religion, national origin, pregnancy, or for reporting unlawful conduct, remains unlawful. Some states also require final pay on the last day, and federal law requires notice of mass layoffs in certain cases, so at will status does not remove every obligation at termination.

Outside the United States

At will employment is essentially an American concept. In Australia, the UK, Canada and most other countries, employees are entitled to notice or pay in lieu and, after a qualifying period, protection from unfair dismissal. An at will clause in an Australian or UK contract has no effect on those statutory rights. Employers hiring across borders need a contract written for each country rather than a US template with the at will clause left in.

Keeping documents consistent

The clause works only if other documents agree with it. An offer letter promising a permanent position, a handbook stating employees will only be dismissed for cause, or a performance plan saying the employee will keep their job if targets are met, can each undercut it. Review the offer letter, handbook and policy documents together, and use the same at will wording in each.

Documents that carry this clause

Job offer letterAn offer of $98,000 plus $11,760 of superannuation, with the three checks it depends on and a clear instruction not to resign until they clear. The letter also names what is not in the offer, which is the part candidates most often assume.Employee handbookThe handbook a new starter actually reads in their first week, written for a four clinic health provider with 61 staff. Eight sections, each answering a question in under a minute: what kind of employment you are on, when you work, what leave you get, how we expect people to behave in front of patients, what you may and may not do with a patient record, the five safety rules, and how notice works when you go. It says plainly that the award and the National Employment Standards win wherever the handbook differs from them.Employment contractA full time ongoing contract for an operations coordinator on $86,000 plus $10,320 of superannuation. Eleven numbered clauses, a leave table drawn from the National Employment Standards, and a notice table that scales with service.

Questions people ask