Employment Agreements, Contractor Agreements & Negotiating Skills

Overview: This lecture will provide an overview of how to read and interpret a typical Overview: This lecture will provide an overview of how to read and interpret a typical 
physician or health care provider employment or contractor agreement.It is critical that any 
agreement that an employee or contractor is required to sign be provided to the employee or 
contractor well in advance of the start date with plenty of time and opportunity to review and 
revise as needed.
The presenter will begin by outlining the difference between being an employee and a contractor, 
and what the ramifications are of each classification, as well as providing a general overview of 
other basic business considerations when considering an employment or contractor position of any 
kind. 
Attendees will learn how to interpret basic agreement terms and learn how to eliminate the term 
"boilerplate" and "legalese" from their vocabulary when considering such contracts. Every single 
word in a contract is there for a reason, just because the reason is legal compliance does not 
mean an employee or contractor should brush off the need to understand those words! 
The presenter will provide various alternatives to agreement terms in areas such as compensation, 
scope of duties, reimbursement for professional fees and costs, and professional liability 
insurance.Additionally, attendees will learn how to interpret differences in terms that may seem 
innocuous to the untrained eye but could result in thousands - or tens of thousands - of dollars 
in losses to the employee or contractor. 
The presenter will also discuss potential termination of the agreement and what terms should be 
in all agreements to prepare for potential termination in order to be sure everyone knows what 
his or her rights and responsibilities are before there is a breakdown in the relationship that 
would result in need to terminate. 
Finally, attendees should have the basic knowledge and confidence to understand and negotiate 
basic agreement terms as well as the knowledge to understand when they should call on help, such 
as a qualified healthcare attorney, to negotiate on his or her behalf. 
Why should you Attend: Are you currently working pursuant to an employment or contractor 
agreement that you signed immediately upon receipt? Did you receive an agreement to sign on your 
first day at your current position with no meaningful time to review or consider the agreement? 
Too many individuals sign employment and contractor agreements either without reading them 
(either due to lack of time or misunderstanding as to enforceability) or, once having read them, 
making the incorrect assumption that all terms are "non-negotiable". 
More often than not, the terms are definitely negotiable and, even if they truly are not, a 
dialog about what the terms mean and the reasoning behind their inclusion in the agreement can 
provide critical insight into the employer's motivation and practices. 
This webinar will provide an overview of what the various "standard" agreement terms really mean 
and how to interpret them. Employees and contractors often fail to protect themselves because 
they believe that they either cannot or, that the terms of the agreement cannot be enforced. Far 
too often physicians and health care providers will not seek the assistance of health care 
counsel to review a proposed employment or contractor agreement until it is already signed and he 
or she is already in a hopeless situation with no feasible way out.