[stego-tech]

Have an employment attorney always look over said agreements before signing. A local acquaintance who did work for an MSP had said MSP try such a ploy, only for the employment attorney to sue and get it thrown out as unreasonable and unenforceable.

Never, EVER sign a contract without reading it first, and having your lawyer review it.

[iLoveOncall]

> your lawyer

That presupposes that people have a lawyer, and one specialized in employment law at that, which is highly unlikely to be the case for 99% of the population.

[kragen]

We're talking about negotiating a contract with a value on the order of a million dollars (say, US$200k total compensation per year for five years). Even if you don't have a lawyer normally, it may be worth the few hundred dollars it costs to hire one for this purpose, unless you have no savings.

I never did, though. I just crossed out the clauses I didn't want to accept and initialed them.

[inetknght]

> I just crossed out the clauses I didn't want to accept and initialed them.

Places like Zoho or Verisign don't let you do that.

[throwaway173738]

Sometimes general employment law is not enough and you need someone who specializes in executive contracts for upper management.

[stego-tech]

A good employment law lawyer is A) not at all hard to find in major metros, B) charges reasonable rates for quick turnaround times, and C) is something more people need to have on their side in general, rather than elevating them as some snooty thing only the elite have.

This whole “bUt WhO hAs A lAwYeR” nonsense I’m being blasted with in my comments is exactly why these sorts of contracts, grifts, and scams are allowed to exist and succeed.

Know your rights, get a lawyer, and then share that knowledge with others. It’s Organizing 101 stuff.

[ghaff]

Yeah, as far as I know, I've never needed one (aside from very routine real estate) but I've had to get a couple lawyers recently for different purposes--through my neighbor. I know lawyers but not in the field I need. Sort of a PITA but just something you need to do sometimes.

[wat10000]

Money can be exchanged for goods and services.

[TrackerFF]

I understand that your advice is in good faith - but if we touch grass for a second, only the tiniest fraction of even professional workers have a lawyer at hand. And one that specializes in contract law? Even less.

[mapmap]

It’s not that difficult to have legal help with your contract. Call your local bar association and ask for an employment law specialist. It will likely cost a couple hundred for them to review your contract.

[inetknght]

> It’s not that difficult to have legal help with your contract.

It's difficult to have legal help with your contract responsive within the timeframe that you have available for signing it before the business rescinds their offer and moves on.

[stego-tech]

I understand that your advice is in good faith - but if we touch grass for a second, we can easily find recommendations for employment law attorneys who work at very reasonable rates with fast (sub-1wk) turnaround times.

Because that’s how I found mine. $200 later, and I had total confidence in what I was signing and a lawyer on my side if things went pear-shaped in the future.