This is a guest post by Ty Hyderally. Ty is a labor law attorney in New Jersey. Today, he goes over the important topic of protecting your employees and job applicants. Read on if you want to avoid any legal trouble.
Most companies would want to protect their trade secrets. In highly competitive industries, it may mean the very existence of the company. Employers also do not relish the prospect of having the competition gain advantage with the training and experience earned by a former employee. These are the basic reasons of having a non- compete agreement before hiring an employee. While this provision is often advantageous to the employer, it imposes restrictions on the job prospects of the former employee.
It is not that the employee has a lot of choice. The economic depression has helped create an employers market in the current employment situation. Too many applicants are going after very limited job openings. The employers can afford to be more selective while the applicants are finding it harder to be noticed from the crowd.
The term of the contract and the conditions for terminating such agreements are two important elements of any contract. But a big majority of employment agreements in the United States, including the states of New Jersey and New York are on “at will”basis. Simply put, this means the employment can be terminated by either parties at will. Both the employer and the employee can end the employment anytime and for whatever grounds as long as their motive is not against federal and state edicts.
A contract triumphs over default provisions of the law in case of disagreements between both. Keep in mind that hiring laws and procedures cannot be the subject of an employment agreement and will not hold water when found in violation of such laws. Some contracts can contain elaborate and all embracing provisions on any or both parties and can even require settlement of disputes in out of state courts. Job applicants must be aware of these salient provisions and hire the services of a lawyer as necessary.
Some people might think that job-hunting period is not the proper time to hire a lawyer. They would rather save their limited resources until such time when they can land a job. However, complicated and intricate job provisions and non-compete restrictions can have far reaching effects that most of us ordinary mortals might not be immediately aware of. In these kinds of situations, hiring a lawyer can save you from litigation and other legal expenses that may unexpectedly come out in the future. As in most things in life, knowing the law of the land can have a big impact on things that we do.
Once again, Ty Hyderally is a labor law attorney in New Jersey specializing in employment law, covering topics related to age discrimination and harassment.