Review your Nevada job offer
Authors: Stephan Duceprin (Fall 2023 MIT Pay Equity Student Researcher), Yining Duan (Spring 2024 MIT Pay Equity Student Researcher) and Kristin Smith, JD, MBA (MIT Equal Pay Working Group)
THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE.
State resources: Nevada Equal Rights Commission
Federal resources: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Does your job offer require that you sign a non-compete agreement?
Non-compete agreements are void and unenforceable unless they meet certain conditions. For example, Nevada law states that, “a noncompetition covenant is void and unenforceable unless the noncompetition covenant: (a) Is supported by valuable consideration; (b) Does not impose any restraint that is greater than is required for the protection of the employer for whose benefit the restraint is imposed; (c) Does not impose any undue hardship on the employee; and (d) Imposes restrictions that are appropriate in relation to the valuable consideration supporting the noncompetition covenant.” For this, and additional, aspects of Nevada law, See Nevada Revised Statutes 613.195.
Does your salary match the salary of your co-workers?
Nevada law makes it illegal for an employer to discriminate against an employee on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, national origin, or discussion of wages. See Nevada Revised Statutes 613.330 for text of this law. Additionally, the National Labor Relations Act prohibits the rights of any employee covered by the Act to discuss wages in face-to-face conversations and written messages. While employers may have policies against the use of company equipment when using some types of electronic communications, like social media, it is still the case that policies that specifically prohibit the discussion of wages are themselves unlawful.
Assuming your employment is “at will,” can you negotiate for contractual protections?
It is not common to negotiate for additional contractual protections, but this is a question that should especially be reviewed for potential employees seeking executive level positions as well as positions that require an employee with specialized skills. For these situations, it is recommended to seek advice of an attorney. And further to these general factors, employees may also be able to negotiate for various job benefits, such as training opportunities. Even when it is not possible to negotiate for benefits that are governed by company-wide policies, such as perhaps retirement benefits or health benefits, it is often beneficial to compare and consider these benefits when assessing multiple job offers.
Have you properly excluded your individual inventions prior to accepting your job offer?
As an initial matter, inventor(s) are presumed to be owners of any patent rights that stem from their invention unless those patent rights have otherwise been properly assigned. See 37 CFR 1.41 Inventorship; See Manual of Patent Examination Procedure 2109 Inventorship.
With that said, it is not unusual for employers to ask employees to sign an agreement requiring employees to assign inventions created during the course or their employment to the employer. It is often beneficial for employees who have their own inventions to identify any and all inventions and other intellectual property (IP) to which they intend to retain ownership rights. It is highly encouraged to consult with a lawyer when employees are looking to negotiate a contract that involves the assignment of individual inventions.
Does your job offer require that you sign a forced arbitration agreement?
On March 3, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021, prohibiting employers from enforcing predispute arbitration agreements and class action waivers that concern sexual harassment and sexual assault claims. As a result of this act, employers are not allowed to require claims of sexual harassment or sexual assault be brought in arbitration. Those types of claims may be brought in court, either individually or as collective or class claims, regardless of the existence of an arbitration agreement.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA. Viewers of this resource are bound by the Terms and Conditions of this website, drafted with thanks by MIT alum Paul Cha. A copy of these Terms and Conditions can be found here: https://capd.mit.edu/terms-of-service/. Content is current as of March 2024.