A contractually designated at-will employee can be fired at an employer's whim regardless of whether that employee is a stockholder in the company, a New Jersey appeals court has ruled in a published decision.

The Appellate Division panel said an employment agreement providing that Nancy Van Istendal was an at-will employee who could be fired at any time was enforceable, even though she owned stock in the company, Metro Commercial Management Services.

“We conclude that she could not have a reasonable expectation of continued employment,” Appellate Division Judge Lisa Firko wrote in the Nov. 19 decision, joined by Judges Richard Hoffman and Karen Suter.