Most employment situations involve a presumed agreement wherein the employer or the employee is free to terminate the employment agreement at any time and without cause, explanation or prior warning (subject to anti-discrimination laws). However, some employers insist on entering into a contract for employment, which is an agreement (usually written, but can be oral) that clarifies job conditions and spells out the conditions of termination and benefits. While employment contracts contain the most common employment conditions, such as the duration of employment, job title, and compensation, they can also contain more complex conditions, such as confidentiality agreements, non-complete clauses, severance agreements and mandatory dispute resolution. Employment contracts are common in positions where an employee is highly compensated, brings a unique or specific skill or experience, involves confidential information or when an employer needs to restrict or control the circumstances wherein an employee can work for the employer’s competitor. Employment contracts are enforceable in Maryland if they include all the elements of an enforceable contract (offer, acceptance and consideration) voluntarily entered into by the parties. The work of independent contractors, those who are hired by an employer for a specific purpose (but are not employees), are frequently controlled by employment contracts. Employment contracts can be difficult to draft and even more difficult to interpret since no contract can anticipate each and every employment circumstance or event.

Do you need assistance in drafting an employment contract? Are you having difficulty interpreting the terms of a current employment contract? Feel free to give us a call for a consultation.