GREENSBORO, N.C. — Fact or fiction?
*Your employer has to give you two weeks notice before they terminate you
*You have to give your employer 2 weeks notice
Attorney Nicole Patino from the Law Office of Fred T. Hamlet says….”They are both fiction. There's no law stating you have to give 2 weeks notice on either side unless you have an employment contract that says otherwise.”
2WTK often gets calls when it's snowing and law enforcement recommends folks stay off the roads. People want to know if their boss can fire them if they don't come to work.
“We are an at-will employment state. In North Carolina, unless an employee has an employment contract with a term clause, their employment may be terminated by the employer for any reason,”
Any reason seems so broad but there are some exceptions:
Illegal termination could include termination based on an employee's refusal to violate the law. (EXAMPLE: Your boss wants you to change the hours you work and says you’ll be fired if you don’t)
Unlawful discrimination (race, color, sex, ethnic origin, disability, religion, or genetic information)
How do you prove something like that?
“For example, if a person believes their employment was unlawfully terminated due to age, an employer's comments which relate to the employee's retiring, going home to play with their grandchildren, or other age-related comments could provide evidence that the termination was unlawful.