Introduction to Employment Agreements: Key Terms and Drafting Considerations
Determining When to Use Restrictive Covenants; Jurisdictional Concerns; Risks of Using Boilerplate Language
Recording of a 60-minute CLE video webinar
This CLE webinar will provide an introduction to drafting employment agreements on behalf of an employer. The panel will discuss pre-drafting considerations and the provisions that should be included in the agreement. The panel will also provide an overview of the use of restrictive covenants in employment agreements, and based on current federal and state law, discuss under what circumstances these may be used.
Outline
- Introduction to employment agreements
- Purpose
- Pre-drafting considerations
- Overview of key terms
- Position and job responsibilities
- Obligations to the company
- Term and termination of employment (including at-will language)
- Compensation and benefits
- Work for hire, intellectual property assignment
- Restrictive covenants
- Types of restrictive covenants (nondisclosure, noncompete, nonsolicitation)
- Status of restrictive covenant law (federal and state)
- When to use restrictive covenants
- No prior contracts
- Remedies and dispute resolution
- Other standard terms (e.g. governing law, choice of forum, merger clause)
- Practitioner takeaways
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key considerations:
- What are the pre-drafting issues that counsel should consider and how do these affect the terms of the agreement?
- What provisions are required for employment agreements generally? What provisions may be optional depending on the employee's position and jurisdiction?
- When should counsel consider using restrictive covenants? What jurisdictional considerations should be made?
- What are the dangers of using boilerplate clauses?
Faculty
J. Marc Fosse
Partner
Seyfarth Shaw
Mr. Fosse focuses on all the tax, securities, corporate and accounting issues related to executive and equity... | Read More
Mr. Fosse focuses on all the tax, securities, corporate and accounting issues related to executive and equity compensation arrangements. He works with publicly traded, private, non-profit and government clients in the design, implementation and operation of domestic and international executive nonqualified and supplemental deferred compensation plans, as well as equity-based and other long-term incentive compensation arrangements. He regularly advises clients regarding handling employee benefit matters in corporate mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, initial public offerings and other corporate transactions.
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Natalie M. Koss
Managing Partner
Potomac Legal Group
Ms. Koss actively litigates both commercial and employment cases and has successfully negotiated settlement agreements... | Read More
Ms. Koss actively litigates both commercial and employment cases and has successfully negotiated settlement agreements on behalf of corporate and individual clients. Ms. Koss also represents clients in business tort, employment disputes and copyright infringement cases and has tried both bench and jury cases in federal and state courts.
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Daniel G. Prokott
Partner
Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath
Mr. Prokott advises businesses regarding complex workplace matters. He represents employers of all sizes, including... | Read More
Mr. Prokott advises businesses regarding complex workplace matters. He represents employers of all sizes, including multinational public and private companies, established and emerging private businesses, and nonprofit organizations. Mr. Prokott advises employers on: hiring practices, including issues related to non-discrimination, non-competition, pre-employment testing, background checks and state law compliance; reviewing and drafting offer-of-employment letters and employee handbooks; preparing executive and sales compensation agreements; preparing non-competition, non-solicitation and confidentiality agreements, and advising on the enforceability of these types of agreements; and best practices for managing and implementing employee restructurings and voluntary and involuntary workforce reductions, including release requirements under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and Older Workers Benefits Protection Act, and compliance with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, among other matters.
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