at-will

[at-wil]

adjective

1. being, relating to, or involved in a work agreement that the employer or employee may legally end at any time without notice or cause.

   Companies in this industry often use both contract and at-will employment options.

   Since they aren't at-will employees, they can only be discharged with cause.

   Even in at-will states, employers cannot fire you for discriminatory reasons.

Word History and Origins

Origin of at-will¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Idioms and Phrases

Freely, as one pleases, as in The grounds are open to the public and one can wander about at will, or With this thermostat you can adjust the room temperature at will. [1300s]

Example Sentences

US employers generally have broad discretion to fire workers for any reason, as most staff are hired under "at-will" contracts.

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And the secretary’s power of at-will removal resolves one part of the panel’s constitutional flaw.

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The assumption in those early days was that the Project 2025 people, led by soon-to-be Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought, would be doing the dirty work, such as implementing Schedule F, the order to make all federal workers into at-will employees.

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Employees at the Department of Justice who had worked on Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigations were fired, despite their career status and protections from at-will removal.

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President Trump has now fired a member of the National Labor Relations Board, despite explicit legal protections against at-will removal by the president.

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Related Words

• candidly 
• openly www.thesaurus.com
• voluntarily 
• willingly