Susan Gross Sholinsky, Member of the Firm in the Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practice, in the firm’s New York office, was quoted in SHRM, in “Offer Letters: Start Employment Relationships Off Right,” by Allen Smith.

Following is an excerpt:

Offer letters can set the right tone for the employment relationship—or they can lead to disappointment, frustration and even litigation. Here are some tips on what to include in the letters, how to deliver them and how to coordinate letters with accompanying restrictive covenants. …

What to Include ...

  • Start date.
  • Salary.
  • Title.
  • Schedule.
  • Benefits.
  • Supervisor's name.
  • All agreements, such as noncompete, nondisclosure and at-will employment.

Restrictive Covenants

Some jurisdictions require that restrictive covenants be reasonable in time and scope as well as clearly set forth prior to the employee's start date in order to be enforceable, noted Susan Gross Sholinsky, an attorney with Epstein Becker Green in New York City. …

When a confidentiality or restrictive covenant agreement is provided with the offer letter, the letter should cross-reference the agreement, Sholinsky said. Otherwise, the letter may unintentionally cancel out the agreement by stating that the offer letter is the final agreement between the parties.

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