[yulaow]

Some states (don't know in USA, speaking from EU) have laws against "unfair clauses" which make those automatically null even if you accept it. Usally the point is that for each clause in a contract which put an obligation on the employee, the employer must "give something back" to repay for that obligation in equal terms.

In this case in my state the employer should at least have paid for all the time out-of-work in which op worked on his IP, and with a rate established by op