What to Review Before You Sign an Employment Contract
A job offer from a healthcare system in central Phoenix, a technology company in Tempe, or a semiconductor employer in Chandler may come with an impressive salary. But the contract can bind you to a lot more than a pay scale. It may limit a promised bonus, restrict where you can work after leaving, claim ownership of projects or ideas, or decide how a future dispute is handled.
A careful employment contract review should look beyond compensation and benefits. Examine how the company calculates bonuses or commissions, what happens when either side ends the relationship, whether restrictions follow you into your next job, who owns work you create, and where future disputes must go. Because a few dense paragraphs can shape years beyond your first day.
Before you make any provisions binding, Shields Petitti & Zoldan, PLC can examine your agreement, identify language that deserves a closer look, and explain what signing could mean for your career, compensation, and options later. If a term puts too much control in the employer’s hands, you want to know that while there is still time to address it.
What Should an Employment Contract Review Cover?
Start with provisions that control what happens if the relationship ends. Check whether the agreement defines “cause,” requires notice, promises severance, or gives one side broader exit rights than the other. Arizona generally allows either an employer or employee to end an employment relationship unless a qualifying written agreement limits that right. But Arizona law pays particular attention to the actual contract language when it promises a specific term of employment or restricts termination rights.
An employment contract review should also examine:
- Compensation structure. Look beyond base salary to bonuses, commissions, equity, expense reimbursement, and any conditions that determine whether you earn or keep additional pay.
- Restrictive covenants. Identify noncompete, nonsolicitation, or confidentiality provisions that could affect where you work or which clients you may contact afterward.
- Dispute terms. Determine whether the contract requires arbitration, selects a particular forum, limits available procedures, or shifts certain costs.
- Intellectual-property clauses. Review who owns inventions, written material, software, designs, research, or other work you create during employment.
Ultimately, pay attention to see how these provisions work together, especially when a generous promise in one section narrows once you reach the exceptions, definitions, or termination language. Shields Petitti & Zoldan can help you read those provisions as a whole, spot terms that may work against you, and identify questions worth raising before you sign.
How to Review an Employment Contract for Terms That Could Cost You Later
The most consequential language often appears outside the sections discussing salary and job duties. When deciding how to review an employment contract, pay close attention to provisions that take effect after the relationship changes or ends.
Watch for terms involving:
- Repayment obligations. Some agreements require employees to repay signing bonuses, relocation expenses, training costs, or other compensation if they leave before a specified date.
- Commission cutoffs. A contract may determine whether you receive money from a sale that closes after your last day, even when you performed much of the work beforehand.
- Severance conditions. Payment may depend on signing a release, complying with confidentiality requirements, or meeting other obligations after departure.
- Outside-work restrictions. Language governing consulting, side businesses, investments, or other employment can reach activities that seem unrelated to your primary position.
- Choice-of-law provisions. A Phoenix employee may receive an agreement that selects another state’s law or requires disputes to proceed somewhere outside Arizona.
These clauses deserve attention because leaving a position can trigger financial obligations just as your paycheck stops. A lucrative offer can look considerably different once you calculate what you might forfeit, repay, or give up when you move on. Shields Petitti & Zoldan can trace those consequences through the agreement and help you understand where a seemingly routine provision may create a much larger problem later.
Still Asking “Should I Have a Lawyer Review My Employment Contract?” Contact Shields Petitti & Zoldan, PLC
If your agreement affects commissions, equity, severance, future job options, or termination rights, the answer to “Should I have a Phoenix employment lawyer review my employment contract?” is almost always yes. A legal review can help you catch consequences that may not jump off the page.
At Shields Petitti & Zoldan, PLC, we:
- Spot one-sided terms—identifying language that gives the employer broad discretion or creates hidden obligations;
- Trace financial risk—reviewing how resignation or termination could affect bonuses, commissions, severance, or repayment duties;
- Examine future restrictions—assessing noncompete, nonsolicitation, confidentiality, and intellectual-property provisions; and
- Identify negotiation points—flag terms worth questioning before you sign.
With nearly five decades of combined employment-law experience, nearly $25 million in settlements and verdicts, and a litigation-ready approach to employment law, we will evaluate what the contract says and where the language may create trouble later. Contact us today before your contract terms become a problem.
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