Yes, you can decline a job after accepting a position, even if the offer letter states that employment is ``at will.'' The ``at will'' employment clause means that either you or the employer can terminate the employment relationship at any time, for any legal reason, or for no reason at all.
Less job security While employment at-will-allows for people to leave their jobs with little notice and relative ease, the inverse is also true. In this situation, employers don't have to provide notice for ending an employment agreement, which results in little job security.
In United States labor law, at-will employment is an employer's ability to dismiss an employee for any reason (that is, without having to establish "just cause" for termination), and without warning, as long as the reason is not illegal (e.g. firing because of the employee's gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, ...
At-will employment simply means that the relationship between employer and employee can be terminated at any time, by either party, for any reason. An employer can fire an employee without giving a reason and, likewise, the employee can quit for any reason or no reason at all.
Under the California Labor Code, employment without a specific term is "at will," meaning either employer or employee can terminate it without notice or reason at any time unless there's a contract stating otherwise.
Your employment with employer name is at will. This means your employment is for an indefinite period of time and it is subject to termination by you or employer name, with or without cause, with or without notice, and at any time.
There are five main exceptions to at-will employment in California: public policy, implied contracts, discrimination and/or retaliation, and fraud and/or misrepresentation.
California's Labor Code contains the following provision on at-will employment: “An employment, having no specified term, may be terminated at the will of either party on notice to the other.
Final answer: The true statement about at-will employment is that both the employer and the employee can terminate the employment for any reason that is not illegal. This means either party can end the employment relationship without cause unless it is for a discriminatory or otherwise illegal reason.