If you’ve just received a job offer—congratulations. However, before you take the job, you might want to take a moment to review your employment contract. Are you being hired as an employee or a contractor? Are you not sure? Are you being asked to sign a non-compete clause? What are the terms of your employment? How will you be paid? Hourly? Daily? By the job? It is also important to remember that a job offer is just that—an offer. What happens if you want to negotiate your pay or the terms of your employment? These are just some of the questions you might want to begin asking if you’ve been offered a job.
Moore & Associates are employment lawyers in Houston, Texas who can review your employment offer and contracts to help you understand your rights and responsibilities. Our law firm works closely with workers in the oilfield industry who may receive lucrative job offers, but may have questions about wages, pay, and wage violations. To protect yourself against wage violations, it is important to take a close look at your employment offer and contract before you sign it. Sometimes, though, the language and terms can be complicated. Before signing something you don’t fully understand, consider speaking to Moore & Associates.
What Should I Consider Before Accepting a Job Offer in Houston, Texas?
Before taking a job, it is important to take the time to review your job offer. Your potential employer may provide you with quite a bit of detailed information and with contracts that you’ll be asked to sign. Before signing on the dotted line, it is important to understand your rights and obligations under the law. Moore & Associates are Houston, Texas employment lawyers who can review your employment offer and contracts before you sign them. Here are some things to consider before accepting a job offer:
- Look closely at your benefits package because there might be limitations. For example, some companies that offer excellent retirement plans or bonuses might only permit you to access these funds if you remain with the company for a specified period of time. If health insurance is provided to your spouse, will you have to pay extra, or is it included? And if you have to pay, how much will you pay?
- Will you be asked to sign a non-competition agreement? If you’ve been asked to sign a non-compete agreement, will signing this agreement impact your ability to grow or get a better job in the future? Take the time to learn more about the specificity of the agreement. For example, can you only not work in a certain geographical area? Is the time frame when you cannot work reasonable? Are you being offered a severance package if you have to leave the company that will support you during this period of time? If you cannot work in your field or area for a year or two after leaving the job, it’s a good idea to have a plan about what other career options you might have.
- Are you a contractor or employee? Some workers sign agreements to start working, not realizing they are being offered a contract job and are not being hired as an employee. When accepting a contract job, it is important to understand your responsibilities. For example, with a contract job, you’ll need to pay taxes on your own and will often be responsible for your own insurance and business expenses. You also may not be covered by worker’s compensation if you are a contractor. Moore & Associates are Houston, Texas employment lawyers who can review your job offer and help you understand how accepting a contract job might impact you. Sometimes a contract job offer can be lucrative, but it can help to have a business and tax plan in place.
- Evaluate your wages and how you’ll be paid. The oilfield industry has faced backlash because sometimes the way that wages were paid violated the law. For example, if you are required to work overtime, in most cases, you would be entitled to receive overtime pay. Sometimes employers might offer per-job rates or day rates and then ask workers to put in long hours. If the wages or salary being offered doesn’t seem fair for your industry, you may also be able to negotiate for better wages or a pay structure that is fair and in compliance with the law.
- If you get laid off or if your company terminates you, will you receive severance pay? Your contract should include information regarding what will happen should you be laid off or terminated.
- Hours of work. Another important factor to consider is how many hours a day and a week you’ll be asked to work. Will your schedule be regular or will your hours change? Do the hours fit with your lifestyle? If you will be asked to work over 40 hours a week, will you be paid for overtime? Don’t forget that hours of work should include any emails you might be expected to respond to over the weekend or during your time off.
These are just some of the things you may want to consider if you have just received a job offer. Of course, every job offer will be different, so if you have any questions about your legal rights and responsibilities, you might want to speak to the employment lawyer at Moore & Associates in Houston, Texas today. Our attorney can review your contract, your job offer, identify any issues, and help you negotiate for a better offer, if necessary.
Protect Yourself From Wage Violations
The best time to protect yourself from wage violations is before you accept a job. If you are being offered a contract job when you want to be an employee, or if your employer’s pay structure will lead to wage violations or unpaid overtime, it might be best to address these issues before you take the job. Moore & Associates are wage violations lawyers in Houston, Texas who can assist you by reviewing your job offer, job contract, and help you take steps to protect yourself.
