Employment Contracts

Calif. Supreme Court upholds strict limits on noncompetes

09/19/2008

If California employers were looking to the state Supreme Court to loosen restrictions on the scope of noncompete agreements, they will be disappointed. The court just concluded that agreements restricting the ability to practice one’s profession are generally invalid …

Ask attorney for help to make sure employment contract contains proper language

09/12/2008

If you use employment contracts, don’t be tempted to draft the agreement yourself. Doing so may mean you’ll end up with terms that go beyond what you meant. Contract law is tricky, and an experienced attorney can best guide you in creating a contract that is clear, unambiguous and complies with Michigan law …

Don’t make handbook promises you’re not prepared to keep

09/10/2008

Drafting employee handbook language can be tricky. You don’t want the whole handbook to become a binding contract, but you do want employees to understand they have to follow the rules. But you may want some sections of the handbook to be binding—such as an agreement to arbitrate any employment disputes. So what’s the best approach? …

Arbitration agreement may be used for USERRA claims

09/05/2008

While USERRA may be comprehensive and quite broad, there is at least one area that courts seem willing to concede can be changed. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has recently ruled that employees and employers who agree to arbitrate disputes can include USERRA claims in that arbitration agreement …

Raise arbitration early—or else find yourself in court

09/05/2008

Does your organization have arbitration agreements in place for some employees, but not others? Then make sure you keep careful track of whose cases should go to arbitration and whose should not. If one of your employees sues in court, you may lose the right to arbitration if you don’t object to the lawsuit quickly …

Weigh downsides before requiring arbitration agreements

08/25/2008

It sounds like a great idea: Instead of risking a large jury award in court, get employees to agree in advance to have an arbitrator mediate all employment disputes. But, in practice, arbitrators often bend over backward to give employees a break. Plus, an arbitrator’s decision is hard to undo …

Can we require repayment of moving expenses if a new employee quits?

08/22/2008

Q. Our company plans to hire a manager who will move to North Carolina from out of state. We will pay her moving expenses. Can we recoup those payments if she quits after moving here? …

Pending legislation would change labor relations landscape

08/19/2008

Presently pending before Congress are two bills that could dramatically change labor relations across the United States. The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) would amend the National Labor Relations Act to establish a new system that would enable employees to form and join labor unions. The Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2007 would bolster unionizing efforts among police officers, firefighters and emergency medical workers nationwide …

Can we ask current employees to sign noncompete agreements?

08/12/2008

Q. Is it possible for an employer in Minnesota to enter into an enforceable noncompete agreement with an existing employee? …

How can our process elicit more specifics when the union files grievances?

08/08/2008

Q. We have a lot of trouble with our employees’ union in terms of processing grievances. The form the union uses does not provide enough information for my HR office to determine if the grievance has merit or not. We would like the union to identify the contract provision that it believes has been violated, along with sufficient facts to understand the issue. Any thoughts? …