A new report examining employment standards argues that shifting from at-will to just-cause protections would enhance job security for Maryland workers, amid ongoing federal layoffs that have reduced thousands of positions in the state.
The analysis, authored by Kathy Lara, policy analyst at the Oregon Center for Public Policy, highlights risks associated with at-will employment, the default rule in Maryland and most U.S. states. Under at-will, employers can terminate workers for any reason or no reason, without prior notice or process. Lara contends this arrangement leaves employees vulnerable, particularly when combined with existing laws that place the burden on workers to prove discrimination in firings.
“The research also shows that workers then tend to accept unhealthy and hazardous workplace conditions in order to not experience those unfair firings,” Lara stated in the report. “They might deal with management hostility because of it. They might accept wage theft because they don’t wanna be unjustly fired.”
Lara emphasized challenges in enforcing antidiscrimination protections, noting that without required reasons for termination, proving bias becomes difficult. A just-cause standard, she argued, would mandate documented legitimate reasons for firings, establish progressive discipline guidelines, and provide robust anti-retaliation safeguards.
The report points out that just-cause protections already apply to many unionized workers, most public sector employees, and high-level executives with contracts that include notice periods or severance. Lara observed, “These high-level employees, they understand that without a contract, their positions are precarious. And I think that same should also be applied to the everyday person as well, who’s working retail, a bus driver, a gas station attendant, what have you.”
Sudden terminations under at-will rules can lead to financial strain, forcing workers to deplete savings, accumulate debt, and struggle with essentials like food and child care, according to the findings.
The discussion gains relevance in Maryland, where federal workforce reductions have contributed to significant job losses. State data and Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates show Maryland lost nearly 25,000 federal positions in 2025, the highest of any state, driven by administration efforts to shrink government. Combined October-November 2025 losses reached 10,300, with total declines since January 2025 estimated at 24,900. These cuts have affected communities reliant on federal employment, particularly in Southern Maryland near naval installations and agencies.
While the report originates from Oregon-focused research advocating similar changes there, Lara’s arguments apply broadly to at-will states like Maryland, where no statewide just-cause law exists. Exceptions remain limited to contractual, union, or public sector arrangements.
Advocates for worker protections view just-cause as a tool to strengthen labor rights and economic stability, especially in regions facing federal sector instability. The report underscores that at-will emerged from late-19th-century court decisions rather than legislation, contrasting with many industrialized nations that require cause for termination.
