Summarize and put into your own words: Job applicants and new employees are often perplexed to read in a job application, employment contract, or employee handbook that they will be employed "at will." They are even more troubled when they find out exactly that this language means that an at-will employee can be fired at any time, for any reason (except for a few illegal reasons, such as discrimination). If the employer decides to let you go, that's the end of your job -- and you have very limited legal rights to fight your termination. If you are employed "at will," your employer does not need good cause to fire you. In every state but Montana, employers are free to adopt at will employment policies, and many of them have. In fact, unless your employer gives some clear indication that it will only fire employees for good cause, the law presumes that you are employed "at will." North Carolina law generally presumes that you are employed at will unless you can prove otherwise, usually through written documents relating to your employment or oral statements your employer has made. Normally you are "at will" unless there is a contract for a specific period of time or you work for a governmental employer or in a union shop where just cause is required for termination