{"id":1722,"date":"2018-03-06T18:23:45","date_gmt":"2018-03-06T18:23:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-labor-employment-law\/?page_id=1722"},"modified":"2022-07-19T22:06:05","modified_gmt":"2022-07-19T22:06:05","slug":"employer-required-give-termination-letter-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-labor-employment-law\/blog\/employer-required-give-termination-letter-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"Is an Employer Required to Give a Termination Letter When They Fire You?"},"content":{"rendered":"
A termination letter (sometimes called a service letter) is used to formally document why an employee is terminated and the date of their last working day. While a termination letter is considered good practice, there are no federal or Arizona state laws that require it. In fact, because Arizona is an \u201cat-will\u201d employment state, an employer is under no obligation to provide any reasoning for terminating an employee.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt-will\u201d employment means that the employment agreement between an employer and an employee is severable by either party at any time, for any reason, unless there is a signed contract, collective bargaining agreement, or company policy that says otherwise (ARS 23-1501<\/a>). Every state in the US except Montana has at-will employment laws. While at-will employment is important to allow employees the freedom to change jobs in the pursuit of their career, it doesn\u2019t leave employees with much protection in terms of how and when an employer can lay-off or fire people.<\/p>\n There are only a handful of circumstances that can be considered wrongful termination, and they almost exclusively deal with discrimination and retaliation. The only exception is with employees who have a formal contract with the employer that dictates the conditions under which an employee can be terminated. If an employer takes any actions that are contrary to the contract (even if the contract isn\u2019t signed but is in the company\u2019s employee handbook), that constitutes a breach of contract.<\/p>\nIs an Employer Required to Pay Out Unused PTO?<\/h2>\n