Most states follow the employment-at-will doctrine, and employment for an indefinite term may be terminated at will and without cause. Absent a specific contract term to the contrary, this doctrine allows an employee to quit or be terminated without liability on the part of the employer or the employee, with or without cause.

But executive employees often have a written employment contract that provides for a more complex compensation structure—including incentives, bonuses, and severance pay—and limits the circumstances under which the executive may be fired or terminated to those situations in which the employer has cause for termination, as defined in the written employment agreement.

Montana diverges from the majority of states by not adhering to the at-will employment doctrine for employees who have completed an initial probationary period. Under the Montana Wrongful Discharge From Employment Act (WDEA), after the completion of a designated probationary period, an employee can only be terminated for good cause. This means that, unlike in other states, an employer in Montana must have a legitimate reason for terminating an employee, such as failure to perform job duties or misconduct. However, executive employees in Montana may still have written employment contracts that specify terms different from the WDEA. These contracts can include complex compensation structures and define 'cause' for termination in a manner specific to the agreement. Therefore, while the general workforce in Montana enjoys greater protection from at-will termination, executive employees' terms of termination are largely governed by their individual contracts.