Documents / Employment & HR
Employment Agreement
Hire an employee with clear terms on position, pay, benefits, confidentiality, IP assignment, and at-will status.
Create a review draft
Prepare, edit and export a review draft. Complete the listed local review and execution steps outside Quill before relying on it.
Partly state-specific. Changes for some states only. Other states use the general text, so check your state’s mandatory rules for this document.
Version 2026-09-09.8. No qualified legal review is recorded. Read the complete document and obtain advice for your circumstances.
Review and execution steps
- Confirm work location, worker classification, pay, hours, benefits and mandatory employment notices.
- Review at-will/fixed-term terms, IP, wage rules and any restrictive provisions locally; mandatory rights cannot be waived.
Guidance updated September 8, 2026. Source coverage is limited to the topics described; historical sources are identified. State, local and transaction-specific requirements still apply.
Time
~10 min
Questions
≤ 22
Steps
5
Export
PDF · Word
Answer guided questions, review your draft, and export or request signatures on supported documents.
What we will cover
- 01
Location
Choose the actual location so the preparation guidance and applicable safeguards follow your document.
- 02
Employer & Employee
- 03
Position & Term
- 04
Compensation & Benefits
- 05
Legal Terms
- 06
Review and generate
Edit and export, then follow this document's review, delivery or execution steps.
About this document
An employment agreement records the terms of hiring someone as an actual employee: title, duties, start date, pay and pay frequency, benefits, confidentiality, ownership of work created on the job, and how either side can end the relationship. Most U.S. jobs are at-will and need no written contract, but a written agreement is valuable whenever pay is complex, the role touches sensitive information, or the employee will create intellectual property.
Careless drafting can quietly undo at-will status. Language promising a year of employment, listing termination 'only for cause', or describing a probationary period followed by permanent employment can all be read as a fixed-term commitment. At-will is the default in nearly every state, though Montana is a notable exception with good-cause protection after an initial period. Separately, classify the role correctly as exempt or non-exempt for overtime purposes, and check whether your state requires a written wage notice at hire.
Common questions
Is a written employment contract required by law?+
In most U.S. jobs, no — employment can be at-will and entirely undocumented. That said, several states require employers to give new hires a written notice of pay rate, pay day, and employer details, and certain roles (executives, commissioned sales, some licensed professions) are commonly contracted in writing. A written agreement also makes confidentiality and IP assignment enforceable, which a handshake does not.
What does at-will employment actually mean?+
Either party can end the relationship at any time, for any lawful reason or no reason, with or without notice. It is not unlimited: terminations that are discriminatory, retaliatory, or in breach of a contract or public policy remain unlawful. At-will is the default nearly everywhere in the U.S., and an employment agreement should say so plainly if that's what you intend.
Can an employer change the terms of an employment agreement?+
Not unilaterally. Signed terms — salary, title, duties — generally require the employee's agreement to change, and prospective changes should be documented in a written amendment both parties sign. Employers can usually revise policies in a handbook, which is why handbooks normally disclaim contractual status. Reducing pay for work already performed is a wage-law problem in every state.
General information, not legal advice — laws vary by state and change over time.
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