11
COM Outlook . Fall 2012
HEALTH CARE LEGAL EAGLE
Tips on How to Approach Your First Employment Contract
By Fred Segal, Esq.
Health Law Attorney, Broad and Cassel
Receiving a proposed employment contract
can be both an exciting and a scary moment. On
the one hand, it can be exciting that you have
received an offer to become employed by a
health system or a medical group. On the other
hand, it can be overwhelming to receive such an
important document and have little knowledge
as to whether it adequately protects you. Below
are a few tips on what to look for and how to
approach your first contract.
Consult a Professional
It can be a daunting task to try and decipher
what some of the provisions in your agreement
mean and how they can affect you. Most resi-
dents and medical students rarely have any legal
experience. Even though you probably are able
to decipher the terms in the contract, the lack of
experience with employment contracts may not
allow you to determine whether the terms in the
contract are fair in the industry. This is why it is
essential to consult a legal professional to review
your agreement before you sign it. The small
investment at the outset could help you save a
significant amount of money in the long run.
Don’t Be Afraid to Negotiate
Many times, residents are so happy to
receive their
dream offer
that they are afraid to
negotiate specific terms of their contracts. Attor-
neys frequently encounter residents who think if
they try and negotiate their terms, the employer
will move in a different direction and they will
be out of luck. This is not the case. It is reason-
able to try and negotiate the terms of your deal,
especially if you believe the terms are unfair.
Non-Compete Agreements Are Normal
Non-compete provisions, as unfair as they sound,
are quite common in physician employment
agreements. A non-compete provision basically
prevents a physician from working in a defined
area for a specific amount of time. The rationale
is that since the employer will spend a substan-
tial amount of time and effort training a physi-
cian, the physician should not be able to simply
leave his or her job and compete with the former
employer. These provisions are reasonable as
long as the distance and time restrictions are
fair. The laws in certain states do not allow these
types of provisions. In Florida, a non-compete
provision is not considered unreasonable on its
face if the time restriction is for two years or less.
Don’t Underestimate the Specifics
There are certain specific terms in a pro-
posed contract that, in this author’s experience,
are not taken as seriously by physicians. For
example, a majority of physician contracts will
state the physician’s
responsibilities and duties
.
You should review these carefully and be sure
that what your future employer states you are
responsible for on paper meets your expecta-
tions going into the job. In addition, what are
the payment terms? How do you get paid and
how often? Also, what will your call schedule
be? How does that schedule compare to other
similarly experienced physicians?
The tips above only broach the surface of the
amount of issues you must look out for when
reviewing your first employment agreement.
Nevertheless, this is not as daunting as it seems.
Read every provision carefully and think long
and hard about how these provisions may affect
you in the present AND the future. Protect your-
self from future headaches now.
As medical students,
it is obvious you have a
lot on your minds while
beginning to learn your
craft. Many different
issues can cause stress
besides the practice of
medicine, especially as
you move into residency.
Legal and business-
related issues certainly
can keep any resident
up at night; specifically,
that first contract
you are offered as an
employee of a medical
group or hospital.
Fred Segal is an attorney in the
Miami office of the statewide law
firm Broad and Cassel, where he
is a member of the Health Law
Practice Group. After earning
a bachelor’s degree from the
University of Florida, he earned
his Juris Doctorate from NSU’s
Shepard Broad Law Center and
then completed a Master of Law
degree in Health Law at Widener
University School of Law in
Wilmington, Delaware, in 2008.
