4 ms·

Almost all professional employment in the US is characterized as at-will. How can someone get ensure their work agreement accounts for this prior to starting a

Almost all professional employment in the US is characterized as at-will. How can someone get ensure their work agreement accounts for this prior to starting a job at one of these companies? Ask for a "you will not fire me prior to paying me a bonus" clause? It seems to me that if a company in this situation wants to screw the employee, they will find a way.

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
tomkarlo 15y ago
That's true, but earn outs and equity ownership can both vest over time. So if you're 90% of the way through a project, you're locked into 90% of that earn-out regardless of what happens. That would seem especially important in a situation where you have very distinct "ship" dates, as opposed to most other jobs where there would be an inherent cost to dismissing an employee in an ongoing project in terms of replacement costs, time lost, etc. In a situation where you know your value to the project is going to start to approach zero (and it does as you get close to shipping, since your work is mostly already in the product) you have to protect yourself against the situation where it's cheaper to fire you than pay you.
killerswan 15y ago
Possibly: ownership of the IP only transfers upon final payment.
- kelnos 15y ago
  No, IP ownership transfers when your contract says it does. If you're a consultant and your contract says you transfer IP upon payment, then sure, that's the case. But if you're a salaried employee, then most likely you've signed something that stipulates that your product is a work-for-hire, and it becomes owned by your employer the moment you type it out.
  - killerswan 15y ago
    So I suggested one kind of contract to write which would ensure payment of that sort, rather than the usual.
dctoedt 15y ago
One possibility: If the employee is fired other than for cause (crime, fraud, etc.), then the employer will pay the employee a pro-rated bonus at the same time other employees get their bonuses. This is sometimes negotiated in executive employment agreements, but I can't say I've seen it in rank-and-file agreements.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

tomkarlo 15y ago

That's true, but earn outs and equity ownership can both vest over time. So if you're 90% of the way through a project, you're locked into 90% of that earn-out regardless of what happens. That would seem especially important in a situation where you have very distinct "ship" dates, as opposed to most other jobs where there would be an inherent cost to dismissing an employee in an ongoing project in terms of replacement costs, time lost, etc. In a situation where you know your value to the project is going to start to approach zero (and it does as you get close to shipping, since your work is mostly already in the product) you have to protect yourself against the situation where it's cheaper to fire you than pay you.

killerswan 15y ago

Possibly: ownership of the IP only transfers upon final payment.

kelnos 15y ago
No, IP ownership transfers when your contract says it does. If you're a consultant and your contract says you transfer IP upon payment, then sure, that's the case. But if you're a salaried employee, then most likely you've signed something that stipulates that your product is a work-for-hire, and it becomes owned by your employer the moment you type it out.
- killerswan 15y ago
  So I suggested one kind of contract to write which would ensure payment of that sort, rather than the usual.

dctoedt 15y ago

One possibility: If the employee is fired other than for cause (crime, fraud, etc.), then the employer will pay the employee a pro-rated bonus at the same time other employees get their bonuses. This is sometimes negotiated in executive employment agreements, but I can't say I've seen it in rank-and-file agreements.