Massachusetts At-Will Employment Rule

The employment-at-will doctrine relies on the proposition that employers and employees alike are and should be free to make choices as they see fit. The doctrine holds that either party can enter or end a working relationship at any time, for any reason, and with or without advance notice. It generally covers all employment relationships in Massachusetts, though parties are always free to alter it by express agreements (either written or oral). Employers are also, of course, always bound to abide anti-discrimination laws that protect employees from mistreatment based on race, gender, sexual orientation, and other characteristics.

Exceptions to the at-will rule are narrow. Employers are, in sum, barred from firing at-will workers when their conduct violates established public policies. Under the rubric of "public policy," the courts protect employees who are fired for asserting legal rights and doing what the law requires. They also protect employees from being fired to avoid wage payments. Most workers, though, can be fired at the discretion of employers, even when the boss acts in a way that others find distasteful or even dishonest. It is not, in short, illegal to be rude, arbitrary, or to make decisions based on personality. It is only when the courts identify an exceptionally strong public policy reason to avoid job termination that they act to protect employees from firing. For example, employees cannot be fired for refusing to give false testimony against co-workers, serving on juries, filing workers' compensation claims, or testifying at criminal trials. Nor can they be terminated for reporting criminal activity at work, whether the report is made internally or to public authorities.

The public policy exception remains limited despite employees' efforts to expand it. In most cases, their efforts have failed. One attack involved a single mother who was fired for refusing to work long hours. She sued her employer and claimed that her firing violated an established public policy that favors the care and protection of children. Working until 10 p.m. nightly, she claimed, would cause her to neglect her child, who did not have a second parent at home. The court concluded, however, that the at-will rule cannot be set aside based on the "special domestic circumstances" of a single employee. In other cases, Massachusetts courts declined to protect employees who refused to take mandatory drug tests, complained internally regarding company trade practices, or participated in shareholder derivative suits. The rationale that underpins the courts' decisions focuses on an implied bargain between employers and employees under which both sides agree that either may walk away from the relationship at any time.

By Attorney Jack K. Merrill - Framingham, MA Employment Lawyer

Attorney Jack K. Merrill is a Massachusetts employment lawyer and specializes in employment law and civil litigation. He counsels small businesses and individuals on discrimination cases and other employment related legal matters. 

With law offices in Framingham, MA and Milford, MA, our employment law lawyers provide legal services to individuals and businesses throughout the Boston metro west and Worcester county region including Ashland, Dedham, Framingham, Franklin, Hopkinton, Maynard, Marlborough, Milford, Natick, Needham, Newton, Shrewsbury, Sudbury, Waltham, and Worcester, Massachusetts.