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HOW TO Use BEST PRACTICES in Employment Agreements By Richard D. Alaniz D onald Brown had worked for Charles T. Creech Inc. for 16 years when the company gave him a "conflicts of interest" agreement to sign if he wanted to keep his job. Part of the agreement included language that he would not work for a competing company for three years afer leaving Creech. Brown did leave Creech to join a competitor in 20 08, and Creech sued him for break ing the agreement. Te case wound its way through the courts for years until the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled in Brown's favor in 2014. In part, the court noted, Brown did not receive any promotions, r a i s e s , o r s p e c i a l t r a i n i n g f o r s i g n i n g t he agreement. The Creech case is part of a growing trend, according to the Wall Street Journal, which con- ducted a study fnding that the number of published U. S. cour t decisions involv ing non-compete agreements rose 61 percent from 2002 to 2013. "Since most cases are setled out of court and most opinions aren't reported, that tally is likely low," the WSJ noted. Well-writen employment agreements, which can include non-compete and non-solicitation agreements, can help companies and employees alike by clari- fying expectations and decreasing the chances of disputes. Tey can also help companies remain competitive in an increasingly challenging mar- ketplace. However, if employers are not careful with their employment agreements, they can end up in trouble with regulators or dragged into court by employees. In order to avoid problems, compa- nies need to follow a few best practices to execute agreements that will help both employers and employees achieve their goals, and that will stand up to court challenges. Elements of Employment Agreements Companies can customize employee agreements in a number of different ways. They can have contracts for all employees at a certain job level, or they may only require contracts for employees with particular job duties. Tere are a number of common provisions in employment agreements: • T h e s c o p e o f e m p l o y m e n t l ay s o u t t h e responsibilities, expectations, job location, and hours. • Depending on a company 's industr y, invention assignments may make sense. With an invention assignment agreement, companies own any inventions or business ideas that employees come up w ith that relate to the company's business. • Trough non-disclosure agreements ("NDAs"), employees agree not to disclose any confdential information they learn while working for the company. Tis allows employees to acquire the information they need to do their jobs, while protecting the company's intellectual property and other key information. • By signing a non-compete agreement, or a covenant not to compete, an employee agrees not to work for a direct competitor for a specific period of time afer leaving the company. 32 February 2016 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com FEATURE