Fees & Services
Employment Contracts
Contract drafting, review, and enforceability analysis for employers and employees.
Contract Standards
The terms of an employment relationship are set by contract: offer letters, employment agreements, restrictive covenants, and separation agreements. Each document creates obligations and rights that govern any dispute arising from the employment relationship. Vague terms create litigation. Review these documents before signing, and draft them carefully.
Connecticut law does not have a general non-compete statute. Courts assess enforceability under a five-factor reasonableness test examining temporal scope, geographic scope, the employer's legitimate protectable interest, the burden on the employee's ability to earn a living, and the public interest. Specific industries carry statutory limits: non-competes for physicians are capped at one year and fifteen miles under CGS § 20-14p and are void when the employer terminates without cause; non-competes for broadcast employees are prohibited entirely under CGS § 31-50b. For separation agreements that release age discrimination claims, the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, 29 U.S.C. § 626(f), imposes mandatory requirements including a 21-day review period (45 days in group terminations), a 7-day revocation period, written advisement to consult counsel, and consideration beyond existing entitlements. An agreement that fails any of those requirements is unenforceable as to the age claim waiver.
OWBPA Requirements: Age Discrimination Releases
Separation agreements releasing age discrimination claims require a 21-day review period (45 days in group terminations), a 7-day revocation period, written advisement to consult counsel, and consideration beyond existing entitlements. An agreement that fails any of those requirements is unenforceable as to the age claim waiver.
For Employers
I draft and review offer letters, employment agreements, non-compete and non-solicitation provisions, and separation agreements. Drafting failures I see include non-competes scoped beyond any protectable interest, at-will disclaimers that are undercut by other language in the same document, bonus provisions that do not address earned but unpaid compensation at separation, and release agreements that are defective under OWBPA. A defective release is worse than no release: the employer has paid consideration and retained the liability it intended to extinguish. I also advise on arbitration clauses, including the limits imposed by the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, Pub. L. 117-90, which voids pre-dispute arbitration agreements for those claims regardless of what the contract says.
For Employees
I review employment contracts and separation agreements before signing, and I assess signed agreements for enforceability defects. I check whether non-compete provisions survive a choice-of-law challenge, whether a separation agreement satisfies OWBPA and actually releases the claims it covers, whether bonus or commission provisions deny earned compensation at separation, and whether leave benefits match statutory entitlements under CT FMLA, CTPL, and federal FMLA. I obtained a stipulated dismissal of a non-compete enforcement action by establishing the agreement unenforceable under a Connecticut choice-of-law analysis. For employees who have signed separation agreements and believe they may still have viable claims, I advise on whether the release is defective, whether duress or lack of consideration provides a basis to challenge it, and how to proceed.
Scope of Service
- Non-compete and non-solicitation drafting, review, and enforceability analysis
- Choice-of-law analysis for restrictive covenant agreements
- Offer letter and employment agreement drafting and review
- Separation agreement drafting for employers (OWBPA-compliant)
- Employee review of separation agreements for enforceability and waiver defects
- Arbitration clause drafting and enforceability analysis
- Leave benefit and employment contract interaction analysis