Can a ‘bad’ motive firing of an at-will employee backfire?

Marsha Bartel was an award-winning NBC journalist working on the “Dateline NBC” television show. NBC fired her, claiming it was laying off staff. She sued, alleging NBC had fired her for complaining that the show was not adhering to NBC’s internal ethical standards. The case offers some important reminders about how to handle termination of at-will employees.