Terminations of the employment relationship in North Carolina raise a number of federal and state law issues. Among others, there are state and federal laws that govern and restrict the employer’s right to terminate the relationship: the federal Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) requires that 60-days’ advance notice be given in cases of certain group terminations and the federal Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) imposes certain requirements on releases that seek to release age discrimination claims. WARN obligations are discussed in detail in Plant closings, mass layoffs and other reductions in force.
Generally, employment in North Carolina is at will. This means that either the employer or employee can terminate the employment relationship at any time for any reason or no reason at all. There are five exceptions to this rule:
These are discussed in Recruiting, hiring and employee selection.