Massachusetts Wrongful Termination

Massachusetts is an at-will state, meaning an employer can end a working relationship at any time for no reason. There are some exceptions to this, however. These include ending employment for discriminatory reasons—such as because of race, religion, national origin, age, gender—or ending employment when it goes against well-established public policy, such as firing an employee for refusing to break the law at the employer's request.

Some states recognize an implied contract, meaning that even if there is not a written contract, if there is an implied contract the employee cannot be fired in violation of that implied contract. Massachusetts, however, does not recognize the implied contract exception. This means that unless there is a written contract, an employee cannot file a lawsuit on the grounds that a termination violated an implied contract.