Unsigned Employment Contract

I was employed in Washington, DC and live in Maryland. I was recently fired from my job without cause. My employer mentioned to me that I signed a contract for employment. The contract basically stated that my employer was an At-Will company. However, I never signed the contract. Do I have any recourse?

Maryland is an at-will State. Even if you did not sign anything, if you are not a member of a union or have an employment contract that does not state "at-will," you can still be fired for anything or nothing. Most of these "contracts" are basically non-competes and a lot of times, these employers draft them themselves to save on legal costs. Sometimes they make "stupid" mistakes. If you want to find out if your employer made a "stupid" mistake trying to save a dime, then you will have to consult an employment attorney.

Fired in DC

Thanks Buddy for your reply. But I still need to know if Washington, DC is an At-Will State. For, that was the state that I was employed.

Last time I checked, D.C. was not a State, even though they wish they were!

You have "at-will" and "right-to-work."

At-will -- can be fired for any reason or no reason.

RTW - you have the right to work without belonging to a union in order to work at a company and without having to join a union in order to work at a company.

So far, I believe that as non-union that is all the choices you have, so, basically, every State is at-will.