Every potential employer I have talked to in "at will" states (WI, IL, IN, TN, AL) has made it clear, on application, that I would not have a contract, and that

Every potential employer I have talked to in "at will" states (WI, IL, IN, TN, AL) has made it clear, on application, that I would not have a contract, and that I should not consider any document I receive to be a contract unless it is signed by the CEO. On the occasions when I brought it up (3), I was told in each instance that the company did not have severance agreements, and that they would not discuss it further. I stopped asking after that, and just rolled it into my salary expectation. Don't tell me I'm wrong. I lived it. They don't want to do it because, like offering vacation instead of PTO, it represents a cost of firing someone. They very much want to be able to drop anyone, at any time, for free, as that means they don't need to set aside money for firing people.