Every organization depends on generating sales, often sales made by sales agents. Drafting agreements for salespeople is complex and unlike other employment agreements. The primary task is defining a workable sales commission and incentive structure that is durable while the sales agent works for your client and that limits legal liability and practical damage after the sales agent separates from employment. There are also complex issues of post-employment payments, internal reporting and support, and preserving the confidentiality of proprietary employer information such as client/customer lists, pricing schedules, vendor information and more after the sales agent has departed – perhaps to a competitor. This program will provide you with a practical guide to drafting sales agents’ agreements for business clients.
· Commission and incentive structures – and common traps after an agent departs
· Differences between employee v. independent contractor sales staff
· Common traps employers make in including unlawful terms
· Wage and hour issues in commission and incentive compensation agreements
· Protecting client and price lists, vendor information & other sensitive information when a sales agent leaves
· Scope of protectable interests and practical steps required to enforce confidentiality
Speaker:
Jennifer S. Baldocchi is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Paul Hastings, LLP, and co-chair of the firm’s employment department. She has a broad-based employment practice, with a focus on intellectual property, including employee mobility, trade secrets, covenants not to compete, unfair competition, and related business tort claims. Her practice also involves advising and defending employers in complex employment claims such as wrongful discharge, discrimination, retaliation, and harassment. She also counsels clients in wage and hour issues and investigations. Ms. Baldocchi earned her B.A., with honors, from the University of California, Berkeley, and her J.D. from Loyola Law School.
Disclaimer: All views or opinions expressed by any presenter during the course of this CLE is that of the presenter alone and not an opinion of the Oklahoma Bar Association, the employers, or affiliates of the presenters unless specifically stated. Additionally, any materials, including the legal research, are the product of the individual contributor, not the Oklahoma Bar Association. The Oklahoma Bar Association makes no warranty, express or implied, relating to the accuracy or content of these materials.