New York is an 'at-will' employment State. Without a contract restricting termination, generally an employer has the right to discharge an employee at any time for any, or no, reason, providing it is not an act of illegal retaliation or discrimination (see below).
New York Is an At-Will State This is because New York is an at-will employment state. As an at-will state, employees are allowed to quit at any time, for any reason, without giving notice. Similarly, employers are permitted to terminate employment at any time, for any reason, with or without advanced notice.
New York State is an “Employment-at-Will” state. That means that an Employer may terminate an Employee at any time and for any legal reason or no reason at all. Likewise, an Employee may terminate his or her employment at any time.
What are the laws surrounding termination in New York state? Notably, New York is an employment-at-will state. This means that your employer can lawfully fire you with or without cause and with no advance warning.
Under California law, employers must provide notice to employees before termination. For employees who have been employed for less than one year, the notice period is at least 90 days. For employees who have been employed for more than one year, the notice period is at least 60 days.
As an at-will employment state, employers in New York are able to terminate employees at any time, with or without cause and they are not required to provide notice. This can make employee termination seem like a quick process. However, it usually is more complex and requires careful handling.
Employment Termination Letter: Under New York Labor Law 195(6), employers are required to provide employees with a written termination letter, stating the date of termination and the date of termination of benefits. The letter must be delivered no later than 5 days after employment termination.
Generally, working 32 hours or more weekly may classify an employee as full-time, aligning with the IRS and the Affordable Care Act's criteria, which consider 30 hours a week or 130 hours a month as full-time. For the most accurate definition, consulting directly with the employer in question is advised.
(1) An Employer or an Employee may terminate an Employee's employment with immediate effect for cause in circumstances where the conduct of one (1) party warrants termination and where a reasonable Employer or Employee would have terminated the employment as a consequence thereof.