Enter to open, tab to navigate, enter to select
For-Cause Employment
Practical Law Glossary Item 2-501-5241 (Approx. 2 pages)
Glossary
For-Cause Employment
Employment that can only be terminated without any further employer obligations under a set of conditions usually specified in an employment agreement. Although the conditions for termination vary, they may include, for example:
- Intentional wrongdoing by the employee.
- Fraudulent conduct by the employee.
- The employee's theft of company property.
- The employee's substantial failure to perform job duties.
- Intentional breach of company policies by the employee.
In addition, a for-cause employment agreement typically specifies the employer's obligations on a termination without cause, such as severance. Typically, but not always, executives are subject to for-cause employment, while non-executives are employed at-will. For more information, see Practice Notes, Recruiting and Interviewing: Minimizing Legal Risk: Risk of Creating For-Cause Employment Relationships and Negotiating and Drafting an Executive Employment Agreement: Termination of Employment.
In most states, if employment is not for-cause, it is generally presumed to be at-will.