Many states, like Massachusetts, are “at-will” states, which means employers are free to terminate employees for any reason or no reason, with or without cause or advance notice. But there’s a critical exception to the employment-at-will rule: an employee may not be terminated for any reason that’s forbidden by law.
Managers and HR professionals are familiar with many such protections. Indeed, most of you know that you may not terminate employees on the basis of race, disability, gender, age, or any of the other classes protected under state and federal law.
