Understanding Employment Contracts in California

Contracts and agreements have constantly been a necessary part of human existence. As early as ancient Mesopotamia, agreements would be written on clay tablets, which would be then baked until hardening. This means that the original contracts would essentially be preserved for centuries even as the clay would be resilient enough to withstand the elements. Written contracts are still susceptible to aspects of the elements, like fire. However, the more likely progress is that these documents can be lost or misfiled, and will need to be replaced. This is one of the examples when the services of an experienced attorney are needed.

In this example, it’s the property of a business, the employer, that is potentially at risk if there is a question about the employment agreement. This hits very close to home because as I’m writing this post, I’m reminded that I have to double check my file on a contract with a former client. Since employers are business entities that need to be able to expand, adapt, and change to compete with their competition, they need flexible and adaptable employment. At the same time, employers want to protect their business interests and the interests of their entity. Due to these needs, employers have several employment agreement options.

In California, employment agreements are automatically terminable “at will” unless otherwise specified in the employment contract language or its equivalent in legal ease. There are also additional requirements for employment contracts that California, in particular, tends to impose. California requires that agreements be in a specific font size. A California employment document is more than just two parties entering into a two-way street to plan for contingencies such as termination or resignation. It is a legally binding agreement between two parties, often establishing the responsibilities of both parties and the terms of engagement.

An employment agreement can be written for any type of employee, including company executives, managers, or even regular workers. Despite the importance of an employer/employee agreement to both sides, modern employment contracts can be very one-sided. As a matter of fact, modern employment contracts are rife with imperfections and errors. Such imperfections are the product of ignorance at best, sloppy drafting, and at worst, outright fraud. Even without going into detail, it’s easy to see how problematic and risky it could be if one party were to try to withhold a copy of the employment agreement.

The Fortune Profession Group lists several situations where employment agreements can be the cause of conflict: There are also special issues that only apply to certain professions and occupations. For example, does a physician have access to a patient record, and if so, does the doctor have to give the patient a copy? Can a therapist refuse to fill a patient’s prescription, and if so what happens if the patient has no other options, or has to drive to another pharmacy?

The act of signing a contract, including an employment contract, isn’t always so straightforward. For example, contracts and agreements may be signed by those who don’t have the capacity to sign them (e.g., under age 18, mentally incapacitated), by those who do not understand (or are misled as to) the conditions of the contract, or by those who are given limited opportunities to review the contract (e.g., backdating, scrolled documents, or other unusual circumstances).

Employment agreements are extremely important to the business sector in California, and throughout the country, as well. It is essential for both the employer and the employee to have legal representation on either side. The wording, and the legality of various agreement components, can have a mark impact on the enforceability of California employment agreements. This is often done because mere interpretation of the agreement terms may be legally insufficient. As briefly mentioned above, the ability to interpret (and enforce) a contract depends upon the existence of a contract.

If a contract cannot be written or notarized because of the age of the signatories, for example, this could lead to an issue where the agreement is invalid altogether, due to the lack of capacity in the signing parties. Contracts also have to be legally enforceable. Some agreements simply cannot be enforced, such as when the contract is void or voidable. For example, where one party of an employment contract obtains a signature by fraudulent active or coercion of others, or if the contract was based upon a mistake or error, then an agreement could be voidable; that is, either party could choose to nullify the contract.