One question most employee ask when they find a new job is, "Do I have to give my current employer two weeks’ notice?” Currently, there are no federal or state laws that require an employee to provide two weeks’ notice to their employer before quitting.

Most states, including California, apply at-will doctrine of employment. At-will means that an employer can terminate an employee at any time for any reason, except an illegal one, or for no reason without incurring legal liability. Likewise, an employee is free to leave a job at any time for any or no reason with no adverse legal consequences.

Thus, neither the employer nor the employee is required to give the other any notice that the employment relationship will end, but sometimes there are practical reasons to give at least two weeks’ notice before quitting their current job.