According to in.gov, Indiana is an at‐will employment state. They state “the general rule, which has been a longstanding principle of employment in America, is that an employment relationship for no specific duration (no contract has been signed for a set period of time) may be terminated at any time at the will of either the employer or the employee for any reason or for no reason at all. Under this rule, the reason for terminating an at‐will employment relationship does not matter. Whether the reason was unfair, immoral or just plain unfair is of no consequence.”
Circumventing the liabilities associated with firing or discharging can be tedious. Employers must review their employee handbooks and other written personnel documents to determine that no statements are being made that could be construed as a promise or binding employment contract. It is strongly recommended that all employers have a written disclaimer that expresses and explains the practice of at-will employment.
Finally, when terminating an employee, employers should strive for consistent and nondiscriminatory communication and, when possible, give the employee advance warning that particular conduct or performance could result in termination.
