Employment-at-will means that an employee can be fired for any reason or no reason at all. In New York, as demonstrated by our prior list of reasons why you cannot fire an employee, the concept of employment at will has repeatedly been modified by law. Nevertheless, employment at will remains the default principle of New York employment law. And so, based on our experience advising organizations when they are trying to address unexpected or poor behavior by employees, or business situations that impact their workforce, we have begun this list of situations in which terminating an employee may be legally permissible. An employee can be fired:

1. 1. For doing a poor job
   2. For coming late to work
   3. For not showing up for work
   4. For lying
   5. For moonlighting without approval
   6. For not disclosing a conflict of interest
   7. For stealing from the organization
   8. For harassment
   9. For discriminating against someone working at the organization based on a protected characteristic
   10. For retaliating against a whistleblower
   11. For insubordination
   12. For being mean to coworkers or customers
   13. For threatening others at work
   14. For breaking work property
   15. For throwing things at other people in the workplace
   16. For assault
   17. For working extra hours without approval
   18. For coming to work impaired by alcohol or drugs
   19. For smoking at work
   20. For being unreliable
   21. For not completing required training
   22. For wearing their hair in colors not naturally found on humans
   23. For not complying with a lawful dress code policy
   24. For breaching a confidentiality agreement
   25. For not following legitimate work rules
   26. For doing something that is contrary to the culture and values of the organization – even though it is not expressly listed in a policy
   27. To reduce costs
   28. Because you no longer need their role
   29. Because their skills do not meet current business needs
   30. Because you found someone better
   31. Because management wants to hire someone else instead
   32. Just because…

Note that this list becomes shorter or more limited for employees in the public sector and unionized employees.  Also some items on the above list are nuanced. In particular, “because” cannot be to hide an unlawful reason (see our list of 30+ reasons why you cannot fire a New York employee). When in doubt, get legal advice.

By Tracey I. Levy