Understand that employment in the US and California in particular is based on the doctrine of "Employment-at-will". Your employer or yourself can terminate the

Understand that employment in the US and California in particular is based on the doctrine of "Employment-at-will". Your employer or yourself can terminate the employment relationship for any reason except for a few narrow exceptions. This is quite different than way employment law is structured in the rest of the developed world. This puts employees at a distinct disadvantage unless they have significant financial assets and makes it very important to choose an ethical company to work for. Management by fear is common due to employment at will and especially in ethically-challenged companies.