Employment contract, "Loyalty" clause

An employer offer letter I've received has a section titled "DUTY OF LOYALTY DURING EMPLOYMENT". "I understand .. my employment requires my full attention and effort [...] I will not engage in any business activity other than for the Company ..."

This sounds fishy.. and what if I want to set up a website for something to make some $ on the side? The term "Loyalty" and phrase "full attention and effort" seems too catch-all for me.

1 answer  |  asked Apr 23, 2003 4:25 PM [EST]  |  applies to Illinois

Answers (1)

Aaron Maduff
Employment contract, "Loyalty" clause

The first question is "do you want to set up a website." If you don't think you are giving anything away, there is nothing to worry about. But more importantly, this becomes a contract which was written by the employer. As a matter of contract law, any ambigueties must be resolved against the drafter of the contract, in this case the employer. It sounds to me like what they are saying is that during business hours you are working for the company and not for yourself. That said, I do not have the complete offer letter to review and I know nothing about the job. We normally have a consultation to review these kinds of things. In the long run, if you are concerned you can ask for clarification or you can have an attorney do so for you.
Aaron Maduff

posted by Aaron Maduff  |  Apr 23, 2003 5:13 PM [EST]

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