Employment Agreement Outline

LEGAL DISCLAIMER: This skill produces educational templates and general guidance only. It does not constitute legal advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and must not be used as a substitute for consultation with a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction. Employment law is highly state-specific and varies by role, industry, and employee classification. Always have a licensed employment attorney review any agreement before execution.

Employment agreements are the foundation of the employer-employee relationship and the first document reviewed in every dispute. A sloppy agreement costs 10x more to litigate than a tight one costs to draft. This skill builds agreements that hold up under hostile review.

Phase 1 — Intake

Gather these inputs before drafting a single clause. Incomplete intake produces unenforceable agreements.

1.1 Company & Role Basics

• [ ] Company legal name, state of incorporation, principal place of business
• [ ] Employee full legal name and residence state
• [ ] Position title, reporting line, start date, work location (remote/hybrid/onsite)
• [ ] Employment classification: at-will, contract term, executive, or union-covered
• [ ] Exempt vs. non-exempt under FLSA (salary test + duties test)

1.2 Compensation Structure

• [ ] Base salary, pay frequency, review cadence
• [ ] Bonus: discretionary, formula-based, signing, retention, or milestone
• [ ] Equity: ISO, NSO, RSU, or phantom — vesting schedule, cliff, acceleration triggers
• [ ] Benefits package: health, dental, 401(k) match, PTO accrual, parental leave
• [ ] Expense reimbursement, relocation, tuition, device stipend

1.3 Restrictive Covenants Scope

• [ ] Non-compete: geographic scope, duration, industry definition (check FTC rule status + state bans: CA, ND, OK, MN, MA limits)
• [ ] Non-solicitation: customers only, employees only, or both — duration
• [ ] Non-disclosure: trade secrets, confidential info, residual knowledge carve-out