Employment-at-will doctrine; abolish and create "Good Faith in Employment Act."

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To: Business and Commerce
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Evans

HOUSE BILL NO. 755

AN ACT ENTITLED THE "GOOD FAITH IN EMPLOYMENT ACT"; TO 1
ABOLISH EMPLOYMENT AT WILL AND TO REQUIRE EMPLOYMENT TERMINATION 2
DECISIONS BE MADE IN GOOD FAITH; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 4
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the 5
"Good Faith in Employment Act." 6
SECTION 2. The purpose of this act is to abolish employment 7
at will and to require that decisions to terminate the employment 8
of employees be made for good-faith business reasons only. It is 9
the intent of the Legislature that this act be interpreted as 10
liberally as necessary to accomplish these purposes. 11
SECTION 3. The following terms, when used in this act, shall 12
have the following meaning: 13
(a) "Constructive discharge" means the voluntary 14
termination of employment by an employee, because of a situation 15
created by an act or omission of the employer that an objective, 16
reasonable person would find so intolerable that voluntary 17
termination is the employee's only reasonable alternative. 18
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(b) "Discharge" includes a constructive discharge as 19
defined in paragraph (a) of this section and also includes any 20
other termination of employment, including being fired, being laid 21
off or being cut back. 22
(c) "Employer" means any state or local governmental 23
entity or a private employer that has twenty (20) or more 24
employees in each of twenty (20) or more calendar weeks in the 25
current or preceding year. 26
(d) "Good faith" means a discharge of an employee who 27
has completed his or her probationary period, only for legitimate, 28
bona fide business reasons and not for arbitrary reasons unrelated 29
to the business needs of the employer. A discharge is not in good 30
faith when: 31
(i) It is based on personal dislike, envy, 32
jealousy or other reasons unrelated to the legitimate business 33
needs of the employer; 34
(ii) It is in retaliation for the exercise of 35
rights protected by a federal or state constitution or statute; 36
(iii) It is in violation of statements made in the 37
employee handbook; 38
(iv) It is based on race, sex, refusing to engage 39
in sex, age, national origin or religion; 40
(v) It is in retaliation for protesting improper 41
or illegal conduct or for reporting improper or illegal conduct; 42
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(vi) It is because the worker was hurt at work or 43
becomes ill; 44
(vii) It is because the worker files a workers' 45
compensation claim or a grievance; 46
(viii) It is because of an employee's personal 47
taste, association or beliefs; 48
(ix) It is for conduct that did not occur at the 49
workplace; 50
(x) It is made contrary to any oral or written 51
promises of future employment; 52
(xi) It is for alleged misconduct that did not 53
occur; 54
(xii) It is the product of unequal application of 55
disciplinary rules; or 56
(xiii) It is based on conduct unrelated to the 57
employee's work ability or work performance. 58
(e) "Probationary period" means the first ninety (90) 59
days of employment. 60
SECTION 4. (1) The Legislature finds that all commercial 61
relationships contain an implied obligation of good faith. This 62
obligation of good faith applies in the employer/employee 63
relationship, the same as it does in any other commercial 64
relationship. 65
(2) An employer shall not discharge an employee who has 66
completed his or her probationary period except in good faith. 67
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SECTION 5. It is the intent of the Legislature that no 68
judgments awarded under the provisions of this act shall be of an 69
amount damaging to a business. The total amount of damages that 70
may be awarded by a jury for punitive damages and damages for 71
mental distress, stress and loss of enjoyment of life shall not 72
exceed, for each wrongfully discharged employee: 73
(a) In the case of an employer who has more than twenty 74
(20) but fewer than one hundred one (101) employees in each of 75
twenty (20) or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding 76
year, Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00); 77
(b) In the case of an employer who has more than one 78
hundred (100) and fewer than two hundred one (201) employees in 79
each of twenty (20) or more calendar weeks in the current or 80
preceding year, One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00); 81
(c) In the case of an employer who has more than two 82
hundred (200) and fewer than five hundred one (501) employees in 83
each of twenty (20) or more calendar weeks in the current or 84
preceding calendar year, Two Hundred Thousand Dollars 85
($200,000.00); and 86
(d) In the case of an employer who has more than five 87
hundred (500) employees in each of twenty (20) or more calendar 88
weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, Three Hundred 89
Thousand Dollars ($300,000.00). 90
SECTION 6. (1) If an employer discharges an employee who 91
has completed his or her probationary period not in good faith, 92
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the employee shall have a remedy through jury trial in the circuit 93
or county court. The employee shall be entitled to recover in 94
this action the following: 95
(a) Lost wages from the date of the discharge decision 96
to the date of trial, reduced by any wages the employee earned, or 97
reasonably could have earned in other employment, and unemployment 98
benefits received; 99
(b) Compensatory damages for any mental anxiety, stress 100
or loss of enjoyment of life suffered by the wrongfully discharged 101
employee; 102
(c) Punitive damages, if the jury determines that the 103
employer intentionally acted in reckless disregard of the 104
employee's rights under this act. 105
(2) In addition, if the judge, on post-trial motion timely 106
filed by the employee, determines that the employee has not 107
obtained other employment, after diligent efforts to obtain other 108
employment, then the judge may add as additional "front pay" up to 109
one (1) year of lost wages to the employee's damages. 110
(3) The trial judge on post-trial motions shall reduce any 111
damages awarded to conform with the statutory limits stated in 112
this section. 113
SECTION 7. Any action to enforce this act shall be brought 114
within one (1) year after the employee is notified of the 115
termination decision. The circuit and county courts shall have 116
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ST: Employment-at-will doctrine; abolish and
create "Good Faith in Employment Act."
jurisdiction over these actions and shall grant a jury trial to 117
enforce this act. 118
SECTION 8. The protections afforded employees under this act 119
may not be waived or disclaimed by the employee before the 120
employee is dismissed or constructively discharged. An employer 121
shall not be allowed to avoid any portion of this act through an 122
arbitration agreement, an agreement to limit damages or in any 123
other manner; nor shall an employer be allowed to circumvent or 124
limit the protection of this act by adopting any provision for 125
administrative remedies nor should this act be construed as 126
repealing any statutes which already exist for the protection of 127
employees from wrongful termination. 128
SECTION 9. This act shall take effect and be in force from 129
and after July 1, 2026. 130