Employment that is not guaranteed and can be terminated at any time by either the employee or employer for any reason or no reason, with or without notice or cause, provided that it is not for an unlawful reason (for example, unlawful discrimination or retaliation). In most states, employment is presumed to be at-will unless agreed otherwise, in which case employment is terminable only for cause.

For more information, see State Law At-Will Employment and Exceptions Chart: Overview and Practice Note, Recruiting and Interviewing: Minimizing Legal Risk: Risk of Creating For-Cause Employment Relationships. For more information on the use of at-will employment as consideration for non-compete agreements with employees, see Practice Note, Non-Compete Agreements with Employees: Consideration and Standard Document, Employee Non-Compete Agreement: Section: Consideration.