Nosir said the following:
I do think it worth mentioning here that Illinois is a "fire at will" state meaning that you don't have to even give a reason for firing someone. If you are unhappy with their work, attitude, etc etc you can let them go without explanation, you certainly don't have to explain all, or even anything, to other employees or anyone else, about why a employee quit or were fired and due to privacy concerns most employers, even in other states don't.
In general terms, every part of the above statement is accurate, although the legal term is not "fire at will". However, law is typically a strange creature. Even those states that are "fire at will,' there are exceptions. There may be other laws that "trump" the so-called"fire at will stature. Let me give you an example: I have recently been involved, through volunteer work that I do with an organization, with an employee in a so-called fire at will state, who was employed on a one-year contract. That contract provided that the employee coud be offered another contract at the end of her contract, but the employeer was not required to offer her another contract. In fact, when her contract expried she was out of a job. It should be noted that this employer had hired a number of people on this one-year contract. And she was the only one who was not offered a new contract, as it turned out because the employeer did not believe that she had done a good job.
Speaking for the organization for which I do volunteer work, I told her that we did not have a leg to stand on to challenge her loss of a job. She asked to speak ot this organization's attornies and they told her the same thing. The next day one of their attornies called me and told me that they were wrong in their advice and they could get the issue before a judge. As this developed, she was told that she could collect a large some of money for illigal termination due to a Federal statute that trumped the fire at will and the end of the contract.
The woman told me she did not want a cash settlemenet. She wanted employment. We nogitiated with the employeer, who was a large employeer. She was hired in a new position which was more suitable for her.
Here is the bottom line: She had a provable case that she had been discriminated aginst in violation of a Federal statute. That statute trumped the "fire at will" provisions of the law in this state.
Question: How did the organization for which I do volunteer work know that this woman had been let go in violation of fEderal law?
Answer: We believed that she had. So, Under the provisions of that Federal law we asked for all documents related to her work performance for the year thaat she had been employed and that were related to her not being given a second contract. The employer had to turn those documents over to us. In those documents we discovered a chain of written statements that proved that Federal law had been violated in the decision not to give her a second contract. At this point in time she is working at a reasonable salery and in a permanent position. The employeer was willing to do this in return for her not litigating her illegal termination and obtaining a large cash award. My point: Even in a "fire at will" State, sometimes an employer may have to give a reason and the employer must comply with other laws that may trump the fire at will provisions of the law.
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