Employment agreement & non-compete guides

Most of the long-term risk in an employment agreement is in the covenants and the termination terms — not the salary. Here is the order to read them in.

A non-compete can limit where you work next — but whether it is enforceable depends heavily on your state, and the FTC’s nationwide ban is not in effect.

A non-solicit lets you work for a competitor but bars you from taking customers or colleagues with you — a narrower restriction than a non-compete, but still one to read closely.

An employment NDA is normal — but a perpetual, overbroad one that bars protected reporting is a red flag. Know the limits the law already places on it.

An invention-assignment clause can hand the company everything you create — including side projects — unless a state-required carve-out protects your own-time inventions.

Most U.S. employment is at-will, but how the agreement defines "cause" and "good reason" can decide whether you walk away with severance and vested equity.

Severance is almost always offered in exchange for a release of claims — and if you are 40 or older, federal law gives you specific time and disclosure rights before you sign.

Equity can be the most valuable part of an offer or an illusion — the vesting schedule, acceleration, and exercise window decide which.

A bonus you can only collect if you are still employed on the payout date, or a commission the plan can change at will, may be worth far less than the headline.

A mandatory arbitration clause sends your future disputes to a private forum and often waives class actions — but a federal law carves out sexual-harassment and sexual-assault claims.

A friendly offer letter can still bind you to a non-compete, an NDA, and mandatory arbitration through the documents it incorporates — read what it attaches.

A fast checklist of the clauses that most often work against the employee — grouped by covenants, pay, and exit.