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Contracts
Most private sector employees in California do not have employment contracts. As such, they are
presumed to be employed "at-will" under Labor Code §2922. This means that there is no contractual
commitment between employee and employer, and that absent proof to the contrary, or some other
limitation on the employer's right to terminate the employee, the employer may discharge an employee at
any time and for any reason, and the employee may quit at any time, for any reason. In other words, the
employer need not prove "cause" for the termination, nor is the employer required to act fairly, treat all
employees the same, give warnings or follow progressive discipline procedures.
Of course, if the employee does have an employment contract for a specified term acceptable reasons for
termination will be stated in the contract. Union agreements are also contracts and usually specify that
termination can only happen for "just cause" and provide a grievance/arbitration procedure for
adjudicating terminations. Public employees also have certain due process rights that require school
districts, cities, state agencies, etc., to follow specific review procedures and demonstrate cause for the
discipline or termination. Of course employers may not terminate employees for reasons made illegal by
statute or court precedent such as illegal discrimination or retaliation. For this reason most employers
do follow "for cause" disciplinary policies to establish that the reasons for termination were not illegal
ones.
Employment contracts need not be written and may be implied-in-fact by the employer's course of
conduct as indicated by such things as the employee's length of service, the personnel policies of the
employer, actions or communications to the employee that indicate assurances of continued
employment, or the general practices in the particular industry. Today, however, most private employers
protect themselves from allegations of implied employment contracts by informing employees in writing
that their status is "at-will," that its personnel policies do not establish contractual obligations, and that
their employment status cannot be changed except in writing and signed by an officer of the company.
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