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Comment by bnmillar | Hacker News Reader

A contract I was offered had this crap in it. I asked them to clarify in writing what "related to the work" means. They refused so I declined the offer.

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You may be better off striking out the paragraphs, sign it, and wait and see. It's a no-fuss attempt to fix something that you/we don't think is right, and if they don't raise the point, it means they're ok with the negotiation. A few colleagues have done that, because they've had and will always have (commercial) background projects, and it worked, even though our 1000+ startup has a venerable amount of lawyers per head.

I wonder what legal recourse you have, if you don't get that contract until after your starting date (and have already left a previous job)? Even if you ask for all contract information ahead of time before accepting the job offer, and they conveniently leave that one out until after starting?

Depends on the state, but many assume you are competent to negotiate these issues before accepting employment.

Right, but what I'm talking about is a case where they fail to give that form to you until after your start date (and of course, after you've left your previous job). So they have the advantage -- either you sign the form, or you get fired on your first day of work. Too bad that most states won't consider this "signing under duress".

or you sign and immediately start looking for another job. if they've truly done this in bad faith, they can pay for your jobhunting time.

>either you sign the form, or you get fired on your first day of work.

Why would any company go through the legal and HR hassle to do this? And if they did, why would you want to work for them? Refuse to sign and let their true colours be revealed.

Since you can be terminated for any reason or no reason at all in pretty much every state in the US, I'd be surprised if any state considered this "duress". The expectation is that you can simply quit if presented with a contract you don't like (or, for that matter, if your salary is cut in half).

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