Employme nt
Ag re e me nts,
Actua lly
(With Sa mple La ng ua g e )
Ma rk D. Risk
Em p lo ym e nt a g re e m e nts a re e a sie r to und e rsta nd
a nd w o rk w ith w he n yo u kno w w ha t to lo o k fo r.
THE WRITIN G FOR LAWYERS abou t e mpl oyme n t con t r ac t s h as ch ie f l y
con ce r n e d a pa r t icu l a r
t opic : h ow t o c r e a t e con t r ac t
r igh t s t o
ove r come t h e pr e s umpt ion o f a t wil l e mpl oyme n t . Th is h as come a t t h e
e xpe n s e o f an o t h e r impor t an t bu t l e s s s e xy s ub j e c t : h ow t o r e ad an d
an a l yze e mpl oyme n t
ag r e e me n t s in t h e f ir s t
pl ace . Soph is t ica t e d
e mpl oye e s a r e g ive n wr it t e n docume n t s , wh ich t h e y be l ie ve t o be t h e ir
“con t r ac t ,” an d o f t e n do n o t un de r s t an d h ow t h e y s h ou l d r e ad it an d
wh a t t h e y s h ou l d ca r e abou t .
If t h is a r t ic l e s e e ms a b it f r an t ic , it is be caus e it is t r yin g t o s e r ve
bo t h mas t e r s . It wil l r e vie w t h e ch a l l e n ge s t o a t wil l e mpl oyme n t an d
d is cus s t h e c r a f t o f con t r ac t in t e r pr e t a t ion , paus in g f r om t ime t o t ime
t o appl y t h e r u l e s t o advis e a h ypo t h e t ica l c l ie n t , u s in g t wo s ampl e
ag r e e me n t s a t t ach e d as Appe n d ice s . We wil l r e vie w h ow t o de t e r min e
if t h e pa r t ie s made an ag r e e me n t f o r a de f in it e t e r m, ob l iga t ion s
impl ie d in l aw, t h e e mpl oye e ’s r igh t s aga in s t t e r min a t ion un de r a
wr it t e n ag r e e me n t f o r a de f in it e t e r m, e mpl oye e r igh t s in t h e a t wil l
con t e xt , an d t h e e mpl oye e ’s ob l iga t ion s un de r t h e ag r e e me n t f o r a
de f in it e t e r m. Wh a t e ve r e l s e t h e r e ade r t ake s away, on e t h in g s h ou l d
s t an d ou t : Th e r