system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What are "at will" states and the reasoning behind it?
gpt
So everyone here managed to skip 90% of it.

In non-At Will states if your employer wants to fire you they have to have a reason to do so and documentation to back it up. Basically they have to claim that you were tardy too many times or broke some kind of company policy, that you were made aware of this and be able to provide the documentation that they went through a process that you were informed of upon entering employment with that company. Now even in these states many companies have you sign a contract that dances around this to an extent.

In "At Will" states your employer can just walk up to you and tell you to clock out at any time for any reason. They do not have to even inform you of *why* you were fired in many states and are not required to have documentation to back it up.

So in an "At Will" state your boss can come up to you, tell you that you were fired for stealing, and you have no recourse. They do not have to provide any proof of it and this stops you from collecting unemployment benefits.

So while it is portrayed by those who like it as being fair to both sides, it is literally an attempt to give employers more power so that employees have less options.