Description

Short Form Offer Letter – Employment Agreement (CA)

California Offer Letter – Non-Executive Employment Agreement (Short Form) Preparation Form (Coming Soon) – We recommend that you gather the information in this form prior to accessing the online questionnaire.  Doing so will help you efficiently create your custom California Offer Letter/Short-Form Non-Executive Employment Agreement. The questions for California are relatively similar to other states, for which we have created preparation forms: New York.

Summary

This California-specific Offer Letter/Short-Form Employment Agreement outlines the general terms and conditions of employment for a non-executive employee. The authors have drafted this offer letter and employment agreement in favor of the employer. It is a conditional offer of employment. Once an employer decides to offer an applicant a position, they can send the applicant this agreement.

Details

Employers often create employment agreements with non-executive employees by defining the terms and conditions of employment in the employee’s offer letter and asking the employee to sign the letter. Regardless of the format, an employment agreement should always contain at least the following terms:

• The position offered.
• Whether the position is exempt or nonexempt as prescribed by California law, which is more restrictive than the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Additionally, whether the position is full-time or part-time, and if part-time, the hours and days the employee is expected to work. Lastly, whether the employment is at-will or for-cause, and if the latter, the events triggering for-cause dismissal and the consequences of termination without cause.
• Whether the employment is for a specific term (and therefore not at-will). If so, what that term is and what happens at the end of the term.
• The pay offered.
• The frequency or schedule of wage payment.
• A statement of the benefits offered.

Under California law, wage-related information that certain employees must be given at the time of hiring are as follows:

• Employers must provide nonexempt employees specific information about their pay rates, paid sick leave rights, and other information.
• Employees whose compensation includes commission must be provided with a written commission agreement stating the method for computing and paying the commission.

Arbitration Agreements

Some employers may want to require that employees resolve employment-related disputes by binding arbitration rather than in court. In that case, the employer may consider adding a mandatory arbitration clause. However, courts have yet to decide whether statutory wage claims are arbitrable. The law is also developing regarding the arbitration of unpaid wage claims that would otherwise be under the purview of the California Labor Commissioner.