Executives should expect to enter into an employment agreement when they start a new role. When reviewing the employer’s proposed agreement, executives should focus on the following. 1. Make sure the compensation is clear. You can’t know if you are being compensated fairly if you don’t know what you are being compensated. The agreement should clearly identify each aspect of the executive’s compensation. This can include salary and benefits, … [Read more...]
Should you sign a severance agreement? Ask an attorney, not the internet!
When losing your job, immediately signing a severance agreement may feel like a good idea. The dreaded moment has arrived: you find yourself sitting across the table from your Human Resources manager, and they have just informed you that you no longer have a job. You feel sick to your stomach as questions race through your mind: “Are my savings ready for unemployment? How am I going to get health insurance? Why is this happening to me?” As … [Read more...]
Non-Compete Agreements Are Under Attack and Face an Uncertain Future
Post-employment restrictive covenants have been under unprecedented attack, legislatively and in litigation, in recent years. These restrictions include non-compete, non-solicitation, and other confidentiality/trade secret obligations. Courts have always considered these restrictive covenants to be “disfavored” under the law as an attempt to restrain trade, free employment mobility and competition, and therefore scrutinize these obligations … [Read more...]
What Rights Do Minnesota Employees Have to Examine and Contest Their Employment Personnel File?
Minnesota law enforces certain requirements on employers relating to employee personnel files. The Minnesota Personnel Record Review and Access Act (“MPRRAA”) sets forth employees’ rights to examine and contest the information contained in their personnel files. The MPRRAA defines employer as “a person who has 20 or more employees” and applies to personnel files “to the extent maintained by an employer.” Employees’ Rights Under the … [Read more...]
Should I Resign or Wait to be Fired?
While most employees begin a new job with a positive outlook and high expectations, it’s not unusual for the employment relationship to take a wrong turn. It may be that the employee has been placed on a Performance Improvement Plan or is under an internal investigation. Or, the employee might be experiencing an intolerable working environment that she or he can no longer endure. In any event, whether an employee decides to voluntarily resign … [Read more...]
