SPECIFIC TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE JOB
Employment Agreements
Executives, sales/marketing people, and information technology experts, among others, are often asked to sign employment contracts prior to accepting a job or upon receiving a promotion. Written contracts are also sometimes issued as a result of a sale or purchase of a business, or in connection with an IPO in order to stabilize the workforce. Senior executives are also often offered specialized executive compensation agreements.
BE AWARE OF RESTRICTIONS
Clauses of Your Agreement
Employment contracts are used to set forth the specific terms and conditions of the job. Terms often include the duration of the job, responsibilities and expectations, salary and raise stipulations, commissions, acceptable reasons for termination, notice provisions, and severance pay.
If you have been offered an employment contract, be aware that employers very often include restrictive clauses such as:
These clauses can be quite limiting and, unfortunately, surprising to an employee if they are fired/terminated, laid off, furloughed, offered severance, etc. Employment contracts must therefore be carefully considered in advance of signing, and certainly not ignored because HR or your supervisor is in a hurry to get it signed.
The lawyers at Pelton Graham can review the proposed contract and assist you in negotiating fair and clear terms in advance of signing.
We specialize in the following types of Employment Agreements:
A Breach of Contract
If you already have a contract and your employer:
you should consult with one of the experienced employment lawyers at Pelton Graham. We will evaluate your case and discuss what relief you can seek. In particular, there are a number of state laws and court decisions limiting an employer’s ability to enforce non-competition agreements.
The damages available for breach of an employment contract are usually not as large as for other types of cases. Because of this, we will also discuss all the facts about your employment with you to see if you have other claims which might increase a damage award.
We’re Here to Help
If you are concerned about an employer’s unfair agreements, especially if they affect a number of employees in the same situation, you should act promptly to seek advice. This is important both in order to stop the unfair activity, and because employment protection laws have strict filing deadlines which could bar your claim. Pelton Graham is here to help.