Employment Offer Letter (New York) — New York, United States | IndexLaw Templates
Employment offer letterNew York, United States
Employment Offer Letter (New York)
An offer of at-will employment for an Employer hiring an Employee who will work in New York, setting out the role, pay and exempt or non-exempt status, the written pay notice at hire, pay frequency and deductions, commission terms, paid sick and prenatal leave, off-duty activity and whistleblower protections, confidentiality, invention assignment limited by New York law, an optional flagged post-employment restriction, severance and New York law and forum. Whether the individual is an employee or an independent contractor is settled by the decision card (worker_classification), from the facts, not assumed from the label. How far the hirer may take assignment of the individual's inventions is settled by the decision card (invention_assignment_limits), from the law of the state, not assumed from the draft. Whether a non-compete or similar restraint can be included and enforced is settled by the decision card (restrictive_covenant_enforceability), from the law of the state, not assumed from the draft.
What it covers
Offers of at-will employment to an individual who will work in New York, exempt or non-exempt, full-time or part-time.
The written pay notice at hire, pay frequency, permitted deductions, meal periods and written commission terms.
Invention assignment with the New York exclusion, optional bonus, commission, equity and severance, and court or arbitration dispute resolution.
What it does not cover
Employment outside New York or a position performed mostly in another state.
Executive agreements with a fixed term, change-in-control or Section 280G terms.
Independent contractor or freelance arrangements, and unpaid internships.
Positions covered by a collective bargaining agreement.
Full equity award documents or a stand-alone restrictive covenant agreement.
Local New York City requirements beyond those stated generally.
Document preview18 sections
INDEXLAW / CONTRACT LIBRARYAGREEMENT TEMPLATE
Employment Offer Letter (New York)
New York, United States
Highlighted blanks are the details your parties fill in.
Parties
Dated the date on which it is signed by the last of the parties.
This letter is addressed by [TO BE CONFIRMED — Employer legal name, trade name and principal office address], as employer (the "Employer"), to [TO BE CONFIRMED — Employee full name and address] (the "Employee"), who will work in the State of New York, and records the terms on which the Employer offers the Employee a job.
Key Terms
"Job" refers to the role titled [TO BE CONFIRMED — Job title].
"Main Duties" are [TO BE CONFIRMED — Principal duties]
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"Manager" is [TO BE CONFIRMED — Manager (name or title)].
"First Day" is [TO BE CONFIRMED — Start date].
"Worksite" is [TO BE CONFIRMED — New York work location (office address, or remote-work address)].
"Hours Basis" is full-time.
"Pay Rate" is [TO BE CONFIRMED — Salary or hourly rate] per year.
"Payday Schedule" is every other Friday, for the pay period ending the preceding Friday.
"Status" is [TO BE CONFIRMED — Exempt or non-exempt], for overtime purposes.
"Notice Language" is English.
"Bonus Scheme" is [TO BE CONFIRMED — Bonus opportunity (target, criteria, timing)].
"Commission Scheme" is [TO BE CONFIRMED — Commission plan (rate, basis, draws, timing, treatment on termination)].
"Equity Offer" is [TO BE CONFIRMED — Equity award (type, amount, vesting)].
"Time Off" is paid time off under the Employer's written policy as in effect from time to time.
"Sick Leave Method" is accrual of one hour for every 30 hours worked, up to the annual hours the law sets for the Employer's size.
"Reply By" date is [TO BE CONFIRMED — Deadline to accept].
"Notice Period" is two weeks.
"Severance Package" is [TO BE CONFIRMED — Severance terms].
"Non-Solicit Period" is 6 months.
"Venue County" is the New York county in which the Employee works.
The Job
Subject to the conditions below, the Employer offers the Employee the Job, reporting to the Manager, at the Worksite in New York. The Employee will do the work that ordinarily belongs to the Job and any other reasonable, lawful work of a comparable kind that the Employer asks for from time to time.
The Employee's Main Duties are as listed in the Key Terms. The Employer may add to or change them, within the level of the Job.
The Job is a position on an Hours Basis. The Employee should not take other paid work that competes with the Employer or interferes with the Job without first telling the Employer in writing. The Employer will not take action against the Employee for the lawful off-duty activities that New York Labor Law section 201-d protects, such as lawful political activity, legal use of consumable products and legal recreational activity outside work hours and away from the Employer's premises, except where that section permits, including where the activity creates a material conflict of interest with the Employer's trade secrets, proprietary information or business interests.
First Day and Reply
The Employee's employment is to start on the First Day, or on another date that the parties agree in writing.
The offer stays open until the Reply By date. To accept, the Employee signs and returns this letter by that date; after that date the offer is withdrawn automatically.
Employment Relationship
The Employee is employed at will under New York law. Either side may end the employment at any time and for any lawful reason, with or without notice. No handbook, policy, oral statement or practice creates a promise of continued employment or of dismissal only for cause, and only a signed writing that names this paragraph and is signed by an authorized officer of the Employer can alter this.
The Employer asks the Employee to give the Notice Period in writing before leaving. The request does not alter the at-will relationship. If the Employer asks the Employee to stop working before the notice ends, it will pay the Employee's regular pay for the rest of the notice the Employee gave.
When the employment ends, the Employer will give the Employee written notice of the exact date of termination and the exact date on which the Employee's benefits end, within five working days after the termination, and will pay all wages earned through the last day of work no later than the next regular payday.
Pay
The Employer will pay the Employee the Pay Rate on the Payday Schedule, subject to lawful withholdings and deductions. It will review the Pay Rate from time to time and will give the Employee notice in writing of any change before it takes effect.
On or before the First Day the Employer will give the Employee the written pay notice that New York Labor Law section 195(1) requires, stating the rate and basis of pay, any allowances, the regular payday, the Employer's names, address and telephone number, and for a non-exempt Employee the overtime rate. The Employer will give it in English and in the Notice Language, will ask the Employee to sign and date an acknowledgment that includes confirmation of the language, and will keep the signed acknowledgment for six years. Any change to this information will be notified in writing at least seven calendar days in advance, unless it appears on a wage statement.
The Employer will pay the Employee on the Payday Schedule. The Payday Schedule will be at least semi-monthly on regular paydays fixed in advance, or weekly if the Employee's work is mainly manual, and the Employer will not require a pay period that the law does not allow as a condition of employment.
The Employer treats the Job as having the Status stated in the Key Terms. A non-exempt Employee will be paid overtime at one and one-half times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek, as federal and New York law require, must record all hours worked and may not work off the clock. The Employer will give the meal periods New York Labor Law section 162 requires, which in general are at least 30 minutes for a shift of more than six hours that spans 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. An exempt Employee is paid a salary that meets the applicable exempt threshold and has no overtime entitlement; the Employer will review the Status if the duties change.
The Employer will make only the deductions from pay that the law requires and those that the Employee has authorized in writing after receiving written notice of the terms, as New York Labor Law section 193 allows. The Employer may recover an overpayment caused by a clerical error or a repayment of an advance only as that law and the Labor Commissioner's rules permit, and will stop a voluntary deduction promptly when the Employee withdraws the authorization.
Incentive Pay
The Employee may earn a bonus under the Bonus Scheme on the measures and dates stated there. The Employer will apply the measures reasonably and in the same way as for others in comparable jobs, and will pay any bonus earned, less lawful deductions, within 60 days after the end of the performance period.
If the Employee is a commission salesperson, the Commission Scheme will be put in writing and signed by the Employer and the Employee, and will state how commissions are calculated, how often any draw is reconciled, and what happens to commissions if the employment ends. The Employer will keep the signed terms for at least three years, and will provide a statement of commissions earned and paid on the Employee's written request.
The Employer intends to recommend that its board grant the Employee the Equity Offer under its equity plan. A grant exists only once the board approves it, and the plan and the grant agreement then govern vesting, exercise, forfeiture and what happens when the employment ends.
Benefits and Leave
From the First Day, or from any later date a plan's rules set, the Employee may take part in the health, retirement and other benefit plans that the Employer offers to employees in comparable jobs, on the terms of each plan. The Employer may amend or stop a plan under its terms and the law.
The Employee will receive paid sick leave under the Sick Leave Method, at no less than the rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked and up to the annual hours New York Labor Law section 196-b sets for the Employer's size (40 or 56 paid hours a year depending on size, with the smallest employers providing 40 hours that are paid or unpaid depending on net income). In addition, the Employee is entitled to 20 hours of paid prenatal personal leave in each 52-week period, separate from sick leave. Unused sick leave carries over to the next calendar year subject to the annual use cap, the Employer will give a summary of sick leave accrued and used within three business days of a request, and the Employer will not retaliate against the Employee for using leave. Any New York City or other local paid leave law that applies at the Worksite is in addition.
The Employee is entitled to Time Off as stated in the Key Terms. Unless the written policy provides otherwise, Time Off that has accrued but is unused is not paid out when the employment ends, and the Employer will not remove time already earned. Statutory leave is separate and is not reduced by Time Off.
The Employer will reimburse reasonable business expenses that the Employee incurs for the Employer's business, if submitted with receipts within 60 days under the Employer's expense policy, and will pay within 30 days of a complete claim. The Employer will not make the Employee bear a cost by deducting it from pay except as New York Labor Law section 193 permits.
Conditions of the Offer
The offer depends on the Employee producing, within three business days after the First Day, documents showing identity and authorization to work in the United States, for the federal Form I-9.
If the Employer wants a background check, it will ask for the Employee's written authorization first, will request criminal history only after a conditional offer where New York State or New York City law requires, and will follow the notice, individual assessment and response procedure those laws and the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act require before it withdraws the offer based on the check.
Prior Duties
The Employee confirms that joining the Employer does not breach any agreement or duty owed to a previous employer or other person, and that the Employee has told the Employer in writing about any non-competition, non-solicitation or confidentiality obligation that could affect the Job. The Employee will not use or bring to the Employer any confidential material or property of a former employer.
Confidentiality
The Employee must keep confidential, and use only for the Employer's business, the Employer's non-public information about its operations, customers, finances, technology and plans learned through the employment, during the employment and afterwards while the information stays confidential. It does not include information that becomes public without the Employee's breach, or the general knowledge and skill the Employee builds up in the work.
At the end of the employment, or sooner on request, the Employee will return all Employer property, devices and records, and will remove Employer information from personal devices and accounts after giving the Employer a copy if requested.
Protected Rights
Nothing in this letter stops the Employee from reporting a suspected violation of law to a government agency, from taking part in an investigation, from receiving a whistleblower award, from discussing pay or working conditions, or from exercising rights under the National Labor Relations Act. The Employer will not retaliate against the Employee for disclosing, or threatening to disclose, a practice the Employee reasonably believes violates law or poses a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety, for giving information to a public body investigating it, or for refusing to take part in it, as New York Labor Law section 740 provides, and will keep the posting about those rights that section 740 requires. Under federal trade secret law, an individual is not liable for disclosing a trade secret in confidence to a government official or an attorney only to report or investigate a suspected violation of law.
Inventions
The Employee assigns to the Employer all rights in inventions, software, designs, writings and other work product that the Employee creates in the course of the employment and that relate to the Employer's business or its actual or demonstrably anticipated research, result from work done for the Employer, or were made using the Employer's equipment, supplies, facilities or trade secret information ("Work Product"). Copyright in Work Product made within the scope of the Job vests in the Employer as work made for hire to the extent the law allows.
The assignment above does not apply to an invention that the Employee develops entirely on the Employee's own time without using the Employer's equipment, supplies, facilities or trade secret information, unless the invention relates, when conceived or put into practice, to the Employer's business or its actual or demonstrably anticipated research or development, or results from work the Employee performed for the Employer. Under New York Labor Law section 203-F any contrary term is against public policy and unenforceable, but only to that extent.
The Employee may list, on a sheet delivered before the First Day, any inventions made before the employment that the Employee wishes to keep outside this letter. Where the Employee builds such an item into Work Product, the Employee grants the Employer a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free licence to use it as part of that Work Product.
Restrictive Covenants
This letter imposes no non-competition or non-solicitation obligation on the Employee after the employment ends. The Employee's continuing duties are confidentiality and the return of property, and the Employer will protect its interests by those and by trade secret law.
Severance
If the Employer ends the employment without cause, it will pay the Severance Package if the Employee signs and does not revoke a general release of claims within the period the release states. A release will comply with the consideration, review and revocation periods the law requires for an Employee aged 40 or over, will not waive claims the law does not allow to be waived, and will not restrict lawful reports to government agencies.
Tax
The Employer will withhold federal, state and local taxes and make only lawful deductions. The parties intend that payments under this letter are exempt from or comply with Internal Revenue Code section 409A, and the Employer may adjust the timing of a payment to the extent needed for that without reducing the amount.
General Terms
The Employee is expected to follow the Employer's written policies, as adopted or changed from time to time. If a policy and this letter conflict, this letter prevails on the matters it covers, and no policy limits a right the Employee has under New York or federal law.
A notice under this letter must be written, and is given by delivering it by hand, by email to the address the recipient has provided for notices, or by courier to the recipient's address in this letter, and is effective when received.
This letter, with the documents it refers to, is the full agreement on the Job and replaces any earlier offer or discussion. It can be changed only in a writing signed by the Employee and an authorized officer of the Employer.
If a court finds a part of this letter invalid or unenforceable, the remainder stays in force, and the part may be narrowed to the extent the law allows. The Employee may not assign this letter; the Employer may assign it to a successor to its business.
Governing Law
New York law governs this letter and any claim arising out of the employment, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules, apart from federal law that applies.
Any dispute arising out of this letter or the employment will be heard by a court in the Venue County. This does not limit the Employee's right to file a charge with, or take part in a proceeding of, a government agency.