At-will employment refers to an arrangement in which either side
may end the relationship at any time and for almost any reason.
The one major exception is that employers may not fire an
employee for discriminatory reasons.  Initial Reasoning for At-
Will Employment Historically, the at-will employment arrangement
worked because employers and employees enjoyed roughly equal
bargaining power. Most people were either self-employed or
worked for small businesses owned by a sole proprietor or a few
partners.  These businesses did not have an unfair advantage
over their employees, so there was no reason to protect their
employees from them. In fact, since employees could leave their
jobs at will, most people felt employers should have the same
freedom to terminate employees.  Evolution of At-Will Employment
As the Industrial Revolution got underway, things changed.
Employers got larger and the number of self-employed people
dropped. Jobs became more specialized, making many employees'
skills less widely marketable.