Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in Indiana

Indiana is an "at will" employment state. If there is no union contract with an employer, or if there is no written contract made privately between an employer and employee, then it means an employee is at will to quit at any time, and an employer can fire an employee at any time, for any reason. An employer cannot lawfully fire an employee for an unlawful reason. These are typically the reasons articulated under federal and state laws dealing with discrimination (race, age, sex, etc).

Bottom line: Employer can fire for good reason, bad reason, or no reason. An employer could literally come in and say he decided to fire you for wearing the color green, and you'd have no recourse except unemployment compensation (absent a contract or other special circumstances). If an employee is fired for a bad reason or no reason, then the employee is entitled to unemployment compensation. If it is for an unlawful reason, then the employee must take his or her complaint to the Indiana Civil Rights Comm. or the EEOC, or in some instances, can immediately file a federal civil rights complaint. While the employee may not get his/her job back, there are remedies available to compensate the employee for the wrongful discharge.