January in Michigan means more than fresh snow—it’s a season of new beginnings. Many employees start the year with fresh job offers, career changes, and long-awaited promotions. But today’s employment landscape looks nothing like it did even five years ago. With hybrid schedules, remote-work rules, performance-based bonuses, and increasingly restrictive covenants, your job offer is no longer a simple “sign and start Monday” situation.

What you agree to now will define your pay, career mobility, and legal rights for years to come. And once you sign, your employer will expect you to live with every term—no matter how unfair or unclear it may be.

Core Employment Contract Terms to Fix Immediately

Job Duties & Scope

Many employers include catch-all phrases like:
“Other duties as assigned.”
That language allows them to expand your role far beyond what was discussed in the interview.

Before signing, make sure your contract clearly defines:

• Your essential job functions
• Your reporting structure
• What is not part of your role
• How performance expectations will be communicated

A precise job description protects you from sudden workload changes, unrealistic expectations, or being pushed into roles outside your skill set.

Compensation Structure

Modern contracts often tie compensation to complicated metrics that can be changed without notice. Look for and clarify:

Base Salary

Make sure the amount, pay cycle, and any raise review periods are included.

Bonuses

Terms should specify:

• How bonuses are calculated
• Objective metrics required
• When payments are issued
• Whether bonuses are discretionary or guaranteed

Commissions

If you’re in sales or business development, your contract must detail:

• Commission percentages
• When commissions “vest”
• Protection against losing commissions after termination
• Any clawback or repayment clauses

If the language is vague, the employer can avoid paying you later.

Benefits & Leave Rights

Many employees discover—too late—that their new job offers less time off or more restrictive medical leave rules.

Review:

• PTO and paid sick leave
• Parental leave policies
• Coordination with FMLA
• Short-term disability (STD) and long-term disability (LTD)

If benefits aren’t spelled out clearly, assume the employer may later restrict them.

Remote / Hybrid Work Terms

In 2025, “remote work” is not a handshake agreement—it must be contractually guaranteed.

Clarify:

• Whether remote or hybrid work is permanent
• Employer-paid equipment (laptop, phone, Wi-Fi stipend, etc.)
• Expense reimbursement
• Whether the employer can force a return-to-office mid-contract
• Location-of-work expectations (important for taxes and relocation requirements)

Without clear language, remote workers can be forced back into the office with little warning.

Performance Reviews & PIPs

Your performance plan determines how—and whether—you stay employed.

Clarify:

• How performance will be measured
• Who evaluates your performance
• How often reviews occur
• Deadlines for improvement
• What triggers a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)

Employees get blindsided by vague expectations. You deserve transparency before signing.

Restrictive Covenants

Noncompete Agreements (and Michigan’s Changing Rules)

Michigan’s approach to noncompetes is shifting fast, and national regulatory agencies like the FTC and NLRB are pushing to limit or ban them for most workers.

Still, many Michigan employers include them anyway.

Before signing, ask:

• Is it enforceable?
• Is it overly broad in time, geography, or job scope?
• Does it unfairly restrict your entire industry?

Nonsolicitation Clauses

These often look harmless, but they can severely limit your next move.

Watch for restrictions on:

• Contacting former clients
• Doing business with customers you never met
• Recruiting former coworkers
• Unintentionally “soliciting” through LinkedIn or social media

Confidentiality & NDA Terms

NDAs should protect legitimate business secrets—not your employer’s convenience.

Fix NDA language that:

• Prevents you from working in your field
• Overreaches into personal knowledge or public information
• Interferes with your right to report illegal conduct
• Restricts your ability to pursue future employment

Intellectual Property & Inventions

This is a huge issue—especially in technical, creative, and professional fields.

Many employers claim ownership of:

• Everything you create at work
• Anything you create off the clock
• Inventions developed on your personal devices
• Ideas you brought with you to the job

Michigan law provides certain protections for pre-existing inventions, but only if you document them.

Before signing, ensure you:

• Identify your prior intellectual property
• Limit the employer’s claim to work created within the job
• Protect side projects, creative work, or professional portfolios

Terms That Create Hidden Risk for Michigan Employees

At-Will Language That Conflicts With Promises

Many Michigan employees receive offer letters filled with reassuring language:

• “We see this as a long-term role.”
• “We’re committed to your career growth.”
• “You’ll always have a place here.”

But if the contract also states that employment is at-will, those promises are meaningless.
“At-will” means:

• You can be fired at any time
• With or without cause
• With or without notice

Don’t rely on verbal assurances or friendly language. If job security matters, the contract must include actual protections, not “feel-good” statements.

Probationary Periods

Probationary periods may sound like harmless onboarding tools, but they often reduce your rights.

During this period, employers may:

• Avoid paying bonuses
• Block severance eligibility
• Lower the standard for termination
• Limit access to benefits

Some companies use probationary periods as a trial run, knowing they can terminate easily afterward. If your offer includes one, clarify exactly how it affects pay, eligibility, and your protections.

Arbitration Requirements

Arbitration clauses require you to take disputes to a private arbitrator rather than a court. Employers frame these as “faster” or “less expensive,” but what they don’t tell you is what you’re giving up.

What You Lose With Mandatory Arbitration:

• The right to a jury
• Access to broader discovery
• Public accountability
• The ability to join class actions

When Arbitration Works Against Employees

Arbitrators are often selected—and paid—by employers or third parties who want to keep employers happy. That bias can tilt decisions against workers. If the arbitration clause forces confidentiality or limits damages, it’s especially harmful.

Employees should always push for optional arbitration, not mandatory arbitration.

Choice of Law / Venue Clauses

Some contracts force Michigan employees to litigate in:

• New York
• California
• Illinois
• Or whichever state benefits the employer

This creates enormous obstacles:

• Extra cost
• Travel burdens
• Different legal standards
• Judges unfamiliar with Michigan employment protections

You should not agree to be governed by laws outside Michigan unless there is a compelling reason—and there rarely is. Insist on Michigan law and Michigan courts so you’re not fighting uphill from the start.

Severance-Related Terms to Fix Before You Even Start

Severance Eligibility Triggers

Your contract should specify when you qualify for severance, such as:

• Termination without cause
• Layoff
• Elimination of your position
• Company restructuring

Without clear triggers, employers can label the separation as “for cause” to avoid paying anything.

Severance Amount & Timing

Focus on:

• Weeks per year of service (standard for many industries)
• Minimum guaranteed amount for new hires
• Lump sum vs. installments

Lump sums usually benefit employees, unless you need extended employer-funded payments or benefits.

Benefits Continuation (COBRA, healthcare, PTO payout)

Make sure the contract addresses:

What’s Standard:

• COBRA premium support
• Continued healthcare for a specific period
• Payout for all earned PTO

What to Negotiate:

• Extended healthcare coverage
• Employer contributions to COBRA
• Additional PTO payout
• Short-term or long-term disability extensions

Healthcare alone can be worth thousands—don’t overlook it.

Release-of-Claims Language

Severance agreements almost always include a release. But the details matter.

Watch for clauses that:

• Waive your right to pursue discrimination claims
• Include overly broad confidentiality terms
• Extend or enforce a noncompete
• Restrict your ability to work in your field

Some employers tie severance to a longer noncompete, which can trap you at home with no income. This must be negotiated carefully.

Reference Policy in Advance

Don’t wait to find out what your employer will say about you after you leave.

Secure:

• A neutral reference policy (“dates of employment and position only”)
• The right to pre-approve written references
• Agreement that performance evaluations will not be disclosed

Getting this upfront protects your reputation long after you walk out the door.

Start the New Year Strong—Protect Your Career Before You Sign Anything

The start of a new year is one of the most important moments to safeguard your future. A job offer isn’t just an invitation to begin something new—it’s a binding agreement that controls your pay, your career mobility, your severance rights, and your freedom to work long after you leave the company. Once you sign, those terms become enforceable, even if you didn’t fully understand them.

Contact Batey Law Firm, PLLC

If you’ve been offered a new role—or you’re considering a transition—make sure your contract actually protects you. Whether you're dealing with a noncompete, tricky bonus terms, a commission structure that feels off, or severance language that’s missing altogether, Batey Law Firm can help you negotiate smart and avoid costly mistakes.

30200 Telegraph Rd., Suite 400
Bingham Farms, MI 48025

📞 248-540-6800

📩📩 sbatey@bateylaw.com

🌐 www.bateylaw.com

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