What is “At Will” employment? It simply means that an employer can separate an employee from employment at any time and with no excuse, provided there is no other agreement to the contrary (e.g., union bargaining agreement). Michigan is one of the states that allows employers to terminate employees “at will.” The benefit to the employer is that it is very difficult in Michigan for an employee to sue the employer for wrongful discharge, because an employer does not have to provide an excuse for termination. On the flip side, because employees can be separated from employment so easily, Michigan makes it very easy for an employee to get unemployment benefits if he or she is fired.
So if you want to fire an employee and contest the unemployment benefits, you have to give the employee the reason why you are terminating her employment. And the reason has to meet the statutory definition of misconduct which is pretty much a willful wanton disregard of the employer’s interest – many, many types of violations can meet this standard; I cover many examples of these in my Articles.