Model Employment Agreements
As an employer you should have a written employment agreement with every employee. It is -- by far -- the best defense you have to a baseless lawsuit, and it is, in all cases, the very first thing any lawyer will want to see when your ex-employee says he/she wants to sue you for something. These agreements are designed to keep you out of court and to prevent class action lawsuits, among other things.
The agreements below are model employment agreements for use with doctors, or with non-professional staff, under different circumstances. Non-professional employees are mostly non-exempt. Only high-level employees are "exempt." Exempt means that they are not entitled to overtime, paid lunch, breaks, etc. They are generally high-level management with independent authority to hire and fire that supervise at least two lower-level employees and are paid a significant salary. In Optometry, generally, only well-paid office managers are likely to qualify as non-exempt. If you are unsure it is best to check with an employment attorney as misclassification can result insubstantial penalties.
Most employees are hired as "at-will" employees. This is generally the preferred way to hire any employee, except in some cases a professional employee (a doctor) that you may choose to hire for a fixed term. "At-Will" means you can fire the employee at any time, with or without advance notice, for any reason so long as it is not an illegal reason (i.e., retaliation, discrimination, etc.), and an employee can terminate at any time for any reason with or without advance notice.
"Fixed term" refers to a doctor hired for a year, or for 2 years, or for 6 months. The term of the employment is fixed and agreed to at the start. The contract then provides for extending the terms, conditions under which the employment can terminate, and for penalties of $600 per day for failing to complete the term.
The difference between the California versions and the non-California versions of these agreements are that the California versions do not have a non-compete provision as those are illegal in California in all cases and can result in the agreement being deemed unenforceable.
Pease click and save each of the files below into a folder. Collectively they make up the Model Employment Agreements.
- Optometrist Employment Agreement (At Will - Non-California)
- Optometrist Employment Agreement (At Will - California)
- Optometrist Employment Agreement (Fixed Term - Non-California)
- Optometrist Employment Agreement (Fixed Term - California)
- Optometrist Employment Agreement (Part-time Fill-in)
- Optometrist Independent Contractor Agreement