[snowwrestler]

Federal employment laws, state employment laws, and court precedents substitute for a detailed contract for many employees in the U.S.

This is in fact a big reason that companies like to use so many contractors: it’s way easier to manage the downside risk for a contractor because the employer’s liability is scoped entirely to one written agreement. Whereas their relationship with employees is scoped to the broad set of laws and precedents mentioned in my first paragraph.