[TriLUG] Re: [GoLugTech] legal question

[William Sutton]

The proposal was not to change the verbage /AFTER/ the employer signed.  
It was to change the verbage /BEFORE/ both parties sign.  If the employer 
doesn't like the verbage, he can tell you so.  If he doesn't look over the 
contract to make sure everything is to his satisfaction before signing it, 
then he didn't do due diligence.

Now if you have people altering contracts /AFTER/ signing, you have 
problems.

William

On Wed, 23 Mar 2005, Rick DeNatale wrote:

> On Wed, 23 Mar 2005 12:46:06 -0500, Christopher L Merrill
> <chris at webperformanceinc.com> wrote:
> > Marc M wrote:
> > > PROBLEM for them.  OTOH, striking a line through some things (with
> > > initials), is a nice user-friendly way to deal with them.  Most people
> > > don't realize they have that right -- customizing the terms of the
> > > deal!
> > 
> > I've done this with more than one employer.  I didn't mention it to the
> > HR person...I just did it and handed it back to them.  I'm not sure they
> > ever read it.  Probably just checked the back page to see if I signed.
> > If they did see my deletions, nobody mentioned it to me.
> 
> IANAL but I have been involved in a few contracts and I've watched all
> of the episodes of "The Paper Chase" several times.
> 
> Contract modifications normally have to be intialed by BOTH parties in
> order to be effective.  As Professor Kingsfield said a contract is a
> "meeting of minds."  If push came to shove, I'm not sure what the
> courts would make of it.
> 
> Consider the shoe being on the other foot. If such uni-lateral changes
> were kosher, what would stop your unscrupulous employer from making
> his own alterations after you read and/or signed the contract?
>