Employment Contract Review: Got a Job Offer? Read This Before You Sign.

Check five things first: whether a non-compete is enforceable in your state and how far it reaches; whether the IP assignment claims work you do on your own time; whether disputes go to mandatory arbitration with a class-action waiver; what you are owed on termination, including notice and severance; and whether bonus, commission and equity terms are discretionary or guaranteed.

It depends heavily on your state. Non-competes are void for most employees in California, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Minnesota, and Wyoming (for most workers, on agreements signed since July 1, 2025), and several other states sharply limit them (by salary, duration, or industry). Elsewhere, courts often scrutinize anything broader than 1–2 years or nationwide in scope. ClauseAudit checks yours against the rules in your state.

Overbroad IP-assignment clauses try to. But several states protect inventions you create on your own time, without company resources, that don’t relate to the employer’s business, California Labor Code §2870 is the best-known example. We flag assignment language that reaches beyond what your state allows.

At-will means either side can end the job at any time, for almost any reason. Watch for asymmetric notice periods (you owe weeks, they owe none) and clauses that strip protections you would otherwise have.

Arbitration plus a class-action waiver can quietly remove your right to a jury trial and to join a group claim. It’s legal in many cases but worth understanding before you sign, we flag it and explain exactly what you’d be giving up.

No. ClauseAudit gives you a fast, plain-English risk read so you understand the offer and know what to negotiate, but it is not legal advice. For a high-stakes role or a dispute, take the report to a qualified employment attorney.

Usually yes, and the offer stage is when you have the most leverage. The terms most often changed are non-compete scope, notice periods, severance and the IP carve-out for personal projects. The report’s negotiation email asks for those changes in order of importance.

Anything the offer incorporates by reference: a separate confidentiality and invention assignment agreement, the equity or bonus plan, and the parts of the handbook it says are binding. A clause in a document you did not upload cannot be reviewed.

Start with pay, bonus criteria and equity vesting, then the restrictive terms: non-compete, non-solicit and confidentiality. Check whether employment is at-will, how much notice each side must give, what severance applies, who owns inventions you make on your own time, and whether disputes go to mandatory arbitration. ClauseAudit's automated review checks each of these against your state's rules and explains what is negotiable.