Perhaps no situation carries as much potential liability for an employer as the termination of an employee. In order to reduce the risk as much as possible, employers must implement procedures that require employee terminations to be handled in a consistent and professional manner. As a general rule, Iowa follows the employment at-will doctrine. This means the employer may discharge the employee at any time, with or without cause, for any lawful reason. The employee may also, in turn, quit his or her employment at any time, with or without reason or notice. However, there are some circumstances in which the employment at-will doctrine may be limited by federal or state law, employment contracts, or collective bargaining agreements. Therefore, the employer should keep these exceptions in mind and maintain prior, consistent documentation to support the termination in case the employee later challenges the termination decision.
There are several exceptions to the employment at-will doctrine. Various federal and state anti-discrimination statutes protect employees from being discharged on the basis of: