Vocations · Professional Development

Read every clause
before you sign anything.

Go through the offer or contract one part at a time and mark each clear, worth asking about or missing. Every question goes into one list with room for the answer, and the checklist flags the clauses people most often regret not asking about.

Add an offerWhat you get

Offers and contracts

The worked example is made up: a credit union job offer due back Friday with questions about benefits, arbitration and a training repayment clause, and a freelance design contract. Records save on this device only.

Loading the offer form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Vocations · Professional DevelopmentFree

What you finish with
A record per offer or contract with employer, role, document type, dates, pay and term; eleven clauses marked clear, ask about it or not in it; questions with their answers; counts of open questions; flags for a close reply date, pay under the federal minimum wage, contractor status, arbitration and repayment clauses.
Who it is for
Job seekers with their first or a new offer, freelancers reviewing a client contract, and the career counselors and teachers who help them.
Format
Browser checklist with a saved record per offer. Prints a question list to bring to the call, every offer or a blank checklist; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Professional Development space in Caveat Vocations.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Add the offer the day it arrives, with the reply date.
  2. Read it once straight through, then clause by clause.
  3. Mark anything unclear or missing; write each question in plain words.
  4. Ask for the answers in writing, and for more time if you need it.
  5. For a contract with real money or restrictions at stake, show it to someone who knows employment law before signing.

Add an offer

Employee or contractor

Employee or contractor: the questions that decide itEmployeeContractorWho controls the work?They set your hours, placeand methodsYou decide how and whenWho supplies the tools?They doYou doTaxesWithheld from eachpaycheckYou pay them, oftenquarterlyOvertime and minimum wageUsually coveredNot coveredBenefits and unemploymentOftenNoEmployee or contractor: the questions that decide itWho controls the work?Employee: They set your hours, place and methodsContractor: You decide how and whenWho supplies the tools?Employee: They doContractor: You doTaxesEmployee: Withheld from each paycheckContractor: You pay them, often quarterlyOvertime and minimum wageEmployee: Usually coveredContractor: Not coveredBenefits and unemploymentEmployee: OftenContractor: No
The label in the contract does not decide it; how the work actually happens does. The IRS and the Department of Labor each look at the whole relationship.

Overtime status matters

Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, nonexempt employees earn at least the minimum wage and time and a half for hours over 40 in a workweek. Exempt employees, usually salaried professionals, managers and administrators who meet the law’s tests, do not get overtime. The offer should say which you are; the job title alone does not decide it.

Clauses that follow you out the door

Noncompetes, nonsolicitation and repayment clauses can matter long after a job ends. Rules on noncompetes differ widely by state, and some states ban them for many workers. Ask what each clause covers, for how long and where, and get any changes written into the document you sign.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division. Fair Labor Standards Act: federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour and overtime for nonexempt employees (dol.gov/agencies/whd).
  2. U.S. Department of Labor. Employee or independent contractor classification under the FLSA (dol.gov/agencies/whd/flsa/misclassification).
  3. Internal Revenue Service. Independent contractor (self-employed) or employee? (irs.gov).
  4. U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. CareerOneStop: evaluating a job offer (careeronestop.org).

The worked example is made up. State and local laws on pay, noncompetes and arbitration differ; this checklist does not give legal advice. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.