An employment contract can be a deceptively simple thing. After all, a business and a prospective employee are agreeing to a fair wage in return for the person's work. This masks the numerous legal challenges that can accompany employment contracts. Here are four reasons why your business should always have an employment attorney draft these agreements.
Legally-Binding Terms
Ultimately, the point of an employment contract is to ensure that both sides use agreed-upon language to describe the terms. Both parties should come away from signing the agreement feeling that they understand what the terms are. However, misunderstandings about the legal relevance of the terms often drive disputes, claims, and lawsuits. An employment lawyer will work hard to maximize the legal defensibility of the terms of every contract.
Federal, State, and Local Employment Laws
Regardless of the terms of the contract, some parts of the agreement will likely fall under the governance of some federal, state, and local employment laws. These are rules that don' disappear just because a few people put pens to paper. An employment attorney will review the terms of every contract to ensure that they don't violate any regulations. The lawyer can also review your hiring process to ensure you don't run afoul of anti-discrimination laws. Also, the pay structure should comply with laws governing minimum wages, overtime, and taxes.
Protection
Many companies have specific interests that pay into the terms of their employment contracts. If you run a research-intensive business, you don't want to see employees jump ship and take their knowledge from your company to a competitor, for example. A research company like a pharmaceutical lab might include a non-compete clause to prohibit employees from taking jobs immediately with competitors.
However, non-compete clauses have to comply with bigger legal guidelines. For example, a non-compete clause can't exist in perpetuity. There must be a specified period. Otherwise, a former employee would likely have strong grounds to invalidate the agreement in court. Similarly, you have to provide good compensation for the employee entering into prohibitive terms.
Companies often need to protect other interests, too. Many businesses have provisions covering the disclosure of trade secrets, confidential information, and the details of intellectual properties like patents. An employment lawyer will make sure these clauses allow you to demand damages for violations.
Processes
Finally, the contract should outline important processes. Employees and employers should agree on critical processes like complaints, workers' compensation, family and medical leave, and arbitration.
For more information, contact a local employment attorney.
Share16 January 2023
When you own a company, there's no telling what kinds of problems you will come up against. From lawsuits from strangers to challenges managing simple aspects of paperwork, working with great business attorneys starts with knowing what kind of professional to hire. Fortunately, you can make things simple by creating your own must-have list of items, and doing your own due diligence. The purpose of this simple website is to walk you through how to find a great attorney, what to ask, and how they can help you to create positive, impactful change in your business. With the right moves, you can protect yourself.
