At-Will Employment in Government

Abstract

Supplanting civil service systems’ procedural protections with at-will employment policies is a recent and important phenomenon in public service. This article examines the state of Texas, an at-will employer. It reports a 2005 survey of the state's human resource directors focusing on the at-will doctrine and its use and effects. Respondents agreed that at-will employment enhances employee responsiveness to agency administrators but held mixed opinion of its effects on other employee behaviors (e.g., risk taking, whistle-blowing, decision making, sensitivity to issues of fairness) and agency performance. The article calls for governments to take a more holistic view of at-will employment when considering its adoption.