A woman gave 2 weeks' notice but was fired on the spot. Employment lawyers say it's not ethical, but it is legal.

• A woman was terminated immediately after giving her two weeks' notice.
• She shared her story on TikTok, where people were shocked and suggested she sue her former company.

A woman who said she would be handing in her two weeks' notice at work was shocked when her company terminated her employment immediately without pay.

Kelsi posted a recording of a recent call she had with her employer on TikTok after she told her team lead she planned on leaving.

She said she would give her two weeks' notice when she was ready. As far as Kelsi understood it, this was all agreed.

But when she took a call to give the notice, her employer told her she would be leaving that day.

The employer said that whenever someone on Kelsi's team gives their notice, "we have to accept that immediately," citing the "sensitivity" of her work.

Kelsi was unhappy with the decision because she had been counting on working and getting paid for another two weeks. She told the employer she had been informed she would be able to finish her two weeks when she put it in.

"I am pissed because I have three kids, and I have bills to pay for," Kelsi said in her video. "So yes, I'm livid."

Kelsi's video hit a nerve, amassing 1.6 million views. The comments were filled with people suggesting she hire an employment lawyer and claiming the company was turning her resignation into "wrongful termination." Kelsi did not reply to a request by Business Insider for comment.

But legal experts who spoke with BI say the company was well within its rights. Whether it was ethical, though, is another matter.

Most states follow 'at will' employment

Tom Spiggle, an employment law attorney based in Washington DC and the author of "Fired? Afraid You Might Be," told BI that this is when the phrase "at will" matters.

"You can quit at any time, and a company can terminate you at any time for any legal reason, even if you give advance notice," he said.

Spiggle added that there may be reasons a company would want to separate immediately, such as suspicions that the employee will take sensitive information. But there was no evidence of that happening in this particular case.

"The ethical move would be to pay out the two weeks, even if the company wants to separate immediately," he said.

Jessica B. Summers, principal employment and labor attorney at Lerch, Early, & Brewer, told BI nobody was technically in the wrong in this case.

All states in the US are "at will" employment states, apart from Montana, meaning work contracts can end for any reason at any time. The only exception is when it is suspected the termination violates another law or public policy, such as being discriminatory or retaliatory.

"So when an employee says they are leaving, absent a contract, the employee does have the legal right to end the relationship before the last day proposed by the employee," Summers said.

Andrew Zelman, a labor and employment attorney in Berger Singerman's Fort Lauderdale office, told BI that if a company expects their employees to give the courtesy of a notice period, they should follow suit.

"From an ethical standpoint, the company's treatment is unfair and likely disincentivizes other employees from providing the two-week courtesy," he said.

Poor communication

Summers said Kelsi's situation could have been vastly improved by better communication all around.

"What happened here was not a matter of anybody violating the law but rather poor communication across the board," she said.

Firstly, Kelsi's supervisor was wrong for telling her she could work out her two weeks before checking with HR or someone with authority to make that decision.

Summers said this is a good reminder for employers to ensure that all supervisors and managers understand their authority and are well-trained in consulting the right people when necessary.

"As the TikTok video exemplifies, a supervisor providing a wrong answer when they are placed on the spot can be much more damaging than simply letting the employee know that the supervisor doesn't know the answer or doesn't have the authority to make that call," Summers said.

Kelsi said in the caption of her video that nobody should give any job the courtesy of a two-week notice because "this is the bullshit they will do."

Jonathan Hinton Westover, the chair and professor of organizational leadership and change at Utah Valley University, told BI that he thought firing Kelsi this way was "a slimy thing for a company to do."

"This is why I always recommend to people to not give two-weeks notice anymore, as this is becoming more and more common," he said.

Knowing your rights

Kelsi's situation brings up another important question, Summers said — whether the separation would be considered resignation or termination and whether Kelsi is then eligible for unemployment benefits.

"Unemployment laws vary from state to state, but typically, employees are not eligible for unemployment if they resign," Summers said.

Kelsi posted an update a couple of days later, saying she had filed for unemployment, as she wasn't getting paid for the two weeks she would have worked. She said in the video she knew the employer acted legally, but she was "just really freaking annoyed" at the situation.

Janice Killion, an employment attorney at the firm JustAnswer, told BI that most employers appreciate notice prior to resignation because it gives them time to try to fill the position. However, workers should be aware of the risks they are taking by doing so and familiarize themselves with both their state's laws and their company's policies.

"It is in the employee's best interest when considering resignation to learn of the employer's past practice and to read the written employee policies," Killion said.

"This may not guarantee continued employment during the notice period," she added. "But it can help inform the employee's decision-making and preparation."