While Minnesota is an “at-will” employment state, meaning employers can generally terminate employees at any time, this does not extend to illegal or public policy-violating reasons. Wrongful termination can happen if an employee is fired due to discrimination, retaliation, or other unlawful reasons.
The law says you are protected when you: Speak up about wages that are owed to you • Report an injury or a health and safety hazard • File a claim or complaint with a state agency • Join together with other workers to ask for changes.
Generally speaking, most workplace injuries do not allow an injured worker to file a lawsuit to seek compensation for his or her injuries. Instead, that worker is protected by the Minnesota Workers' Compensation Law and can file a claim for benefits.
A complaint needs to be filed with MNOSHA Compliance within 30 days of the adverse employment action. For more information, contact MNOSHA Compliance, Discrimination, at discrimination.dli@state.mn, 651-284-5051 or 877-470-6742.
File a complaint For more information, contact Minnesota OSHA (MNOSHA) Compliance at oshapliance@state.mn, 651-284-5050 or 877-470-6742.
The agency oversees the state's programs for apprenticeship, construction codes and licensing, dual-training pipeline, occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, workers' compensation and youth skills training programs.
Exceptions to Employment at Will Courts have established three basic exceptions to the at will doctrine: public policy, implied contract, and implied covenant of good faith.
The short answer is, yes, an employee can be fired suddenly without any written warning in California. This is because California is considered an at-will employment state.
“The short answer is yes: In many to most circumstances, employees can be fired without notice,” says Sonya Smallets, an employment law attorney at Minnis & Smallets in San Francisco, California.