Employment Contract - At-Will

AT-WILL EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

Connecticut hiring agreement

This At-Will Employment Agreement (the “Agreement”) is entered into as of [__/__/____] by and between:

• Employer: [EMPLOYER LEGAL NAME], a [ENTITY TYPE], with an address at [EMPLOYER ADDRESS] (“Employer”); and
• Employee: [EMPLOYEE LEGAL NAME], residing at [EMPLOYEE ADDRESS] (“Employee”).

Employer and Employee are each a “Party” and together the “Parties.”

1. Position and Employment Status

1.1 Position. Employer employs Employee as [JOB TITLE], reporting to [SUPERVISOR/TITLE], beginning [__/__/____].

1.2 Work Location and Schedule. The primary work location is [ADDRESS / REMOTE-WORK LOCATION]. The anticipated days and hours are [DAYS/HOURS]. The established workweek begins on [DAY/TIME] and ends seven days later.

1.3 Duties. Employee will perform the duties in Exhibit A, comply with lawful instructions and written policies, and promptly disclose actual conflicts of interest.

1.4 At-Will Relationship. Employment is at will. Subject to applicable law, any collective bargaining agreement, and the payment obligations in this Agreement, either Party may end employment at any time, with or without cause or advance notice.

1.5 No Fixed Term Intended. A start date, salary, review cycle, bonus opportunity, or anticipated schedule does not by itself create employment for a fixed term. Connecticut courts may evaluate whether sufficiently definite words, conduct, policies, or representations created a contractual commitment. Employer intends that only an express promise identified as altering at-will status and authorized by [AUTHORIZED EMPLOYER OFFICER] will do so.

1.6 Lawful Reasons Only. Nothing in this Agreement authorizes discrimination, retaliation, interference with protected leave or wage rights, or another termination prohibited by law.

2. Written Hiring Information, Compensation, and Payroll

2.1 Compensation Terms

2.2 Hiring Notice and Policy Information. The completed terms in this Agreement provide part of the written information required by Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-71f. Employer will also make available, in writing or by a compliant posted notice, its practices and policies concerning wages, vacation pay, sick leave, health and welfare benefits, and comparable matters, and any changes to those practices.

2.3 Minimum Wage. The Connecticut minimum wage is $16.94 per hour beginning January 1, 2026. Employer will apply any higher federal, contractual, or other applicable wage.

2.4 Overtime. Unless a valid exemption applies, Employer will pay one and one-half times the regular rate for actual hours worked over forty in a workweek. Connecticut law does not generally require daily overtime.

2.5 Salary Does Not Decide Exemption. Salary compensation does not by itself establish an exemption. Employer must document and periodically review all applicable salary-basis, salary-level, duties, coverage, and industry requirements.

2.6 Pay Schedule. Employer will pay wages weekly or once every two weeks on a regular payday designated in advance, unless another schedule is authorized by law or approved by the Labor Commissioner. The end of the pay period will be no more than eight days before the regular payday. If payday falls on a nonwork day, payment will be made on the preceding workday.

2.7 Hours and Records. Employee will accurately record all daily and weekly hours worked and will not perform off-the-clock work. Employer remains responsible for paying for all work it suffers or permits and maintaining the required time-and-wage records for at least three years.

2.8 Deductions. Employer will not withhold or divert wages except when required or empowered by law or authorized in writing for a lawful purpose under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-71e and applicable regulations. A property, shortage, advance, or other claimed debt will be handled only through a lawful process.

2.9 Optional Compensation. Employee may be eligible for the following only under the identified controlling written plan:

• ☐ Discretionary bonus: [PLAN/TERMS]
• ☐ Commission: [ATTACH COMMISSION PLAN]
• ☐ Equity award: [ATTACH PLAN/GRANT]
• ☐ Other: [DESCRIPTION]

Each plan should state how compensation is computed, when it is earned, and when it is payable after separation.

3. Benefits, Paid Sick Leave, Vacation, and Expenses

3.1 Benefit Plans. Employee may participate in plans for which Employee is eligible, subject to the controlling plan documents. Employer may amend or discontinue a plan only as permitted by those documents and applicable law.

3.2 Connecticut Paid Sick Leave. In 2026, the paid-sick-leave law generally covers employers with eleven or more Connecticut employees, subject to statutory exclusions. Covered employees accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every thirty hours worked, beginning on the first date of employment, up to forty hours per benefit year. Up to forty unused accrued hours carry forward. Accrued leave becomes available for use after 120 calendar days of employment. Employer will maintain a compliant policy addressing covered reasons, pay, carryover or frontloading, records, notice, documentation limits, anti-retaliation, and the generally applicable one-hour use increment. Counsel must check the statutory collective-bargaining exception for qualifying board-of-education and municipal employees whose agreement prescribes another increment.

3.3 Vacation and Other Fringe Benefits. Vacation, holiday, severance, and other fringe benefits, if offered, are governed by [POLICY/PLAN NAME AND DATE]. The policy or applicable collective bargaining agreement must state whether unused benefits are payable at separation. Employer will make any payment required by the controlling promise and Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-76k. Statutory paid sick leave is not payable solely because employment ends unless Employer’s policy promises payment.

3.4 Business Expenses. Employer will reimburse authorized and properly documented business expenses under [EXPENSE POLICY NAME]. The policy should address remote-work costs, mileage, travel, required tools, approval, documentation, and payment timing without using an unlawful wage deduction.

3.5 Protected Rights. Nothing in this Agreement limits legally protected leave, accommodation, benefit, wage, safety, workers’ compensation, unemployment, organizing, reporting, or anti-retaliation rights.

4. Confidential Information and Work Product

4.1 Confidential Information. Employee will use Employer’s nonpublic business information only for authorized work and protect it from unauthorized disclosure. This duty excludes information lawfully known without restriction, independently developed without Employer information, publicly available without breach, or lawfully reported or disclosed to a government agency, attorney, or court.

4.2 Protected Activity. Nothing prohibits Employee from discussing wages or working conditions, engaging in protected concerted activity, reporting suspected violations, participating in an investigation, making a legally protected disclosure, or receiving a government award where permitted.

4.3 Work Product. To the extent permitted by law, Employee assigns to Employer work product created within the scope of employment or using Employer resources. Preexisting works listed in Exhibit B and works created entirely outside the scope of employment without Employer resources or confidential information are excluded unless separately assigned.

4.4 No Embedded Restrictive Covenant. This Agreement does not impose a post-employment noncompetition or customer, worker, or contractor nonsolicitation covenant. Any proposed restrictive covenant must be separately drafted and reviewed by Connecticut counsel under current common law and all profession- or industry-specific statutes.

5. Separation and Final Pay

5.1 Notice of Separation. A Party ending employment should give written notice stating the effective date, although advance notice is not required for an at-will separation unless another binding agreement or law requires it.

5.2 Employer Discharge. If Employer discharges Employee, wages are due in full no later than the next business day after discharge.

5.3 Employee Resignation, Layoff, or Labor-Dispute Suspension. If Employee voluntarily resigns, is laid off, or has work suspended because of a labor dispute, earned wages are due no later than the next regular payday.

5.4 Final-Pay Components. Final pay will include earned wages and will address commissions, bonuses, vacation, and other promised fringe benefits under the controlling written policy, plan, collective bargaining agreement, and applicable law.

5.5 No Conditional Wage Release. Employer will not condition payment of undisputed earned wages on signing a release, returning property, or resolving a separate claim. Any lawful deduction or property claim will be handled separately.

5.6 Return of Property. By [DATE/TIME], Employee will return Employer property and information, except records Employee is legally entitled to retain.

5.7 Continuing Terms. Section 4 and this Section 5 survive only to the extent their subject matter requires and the provision remains lawful.

6. General Terms

6.1 No Employee Indemnity or Employer Liability Cap. This Agreement does not require Employee to indemnify Employer for ordinary work conduct, cap Employer’s wage or employment-law liability, waive statutory remedies, shift Employer’s legal compliance duties, or impose prevailing-party fees.

6.2 Policies and Plans. Written policies and plan documents supplement this Agreement. Employer intends that they not alter at-will status unless they contain a sufficiently definite, authorized promise to do so; counsel should review policy language and disclaimers under Connecticut contract law. A controlling benefit-plan document governs plan administration to the extent permitted by law.

6.3 Governing Law and Forum. Connecticut law governs. Subject to any separately executed and enforceable arbitration agreement, an action relating to this Agreement may be brought in a court of competent jurisdiction in [JUDICIAL DISTRICT], Connecticut.

6.4 Arbitration and Waivers. No arbitration, jury waiver, class waiver, fee-shifting, or prevailing-party clause is created by this Agreement. Any proposed dispute-resolution agreement must be separate, counsel-reviewed, and signed by both Parties.

6.5 Entire Agreement. This Agreement and its identified exhibits are the complete agreement on the subjects they address and supersede prior statements on those subjects without waiving nonwaivable rights.

6.6 Amendment. An amendment must be in writing and signed by both Parties, except a lawful prospective compensation, policy, or plan change may be made through the notice or procedure identified above.

6.7 Severability. If a provision is unenforceable, it will be severed or narrowed only to the extent a court permits, without expanding any restraint on Employee.

6.8 Electronic Signatures. Counterparts and electronic signatures may be used to the extent permitted by law.

7. Acknowledgments and Signatures

By signing, each Party acknowledges that the compensation, hours, and wage-payment schedule in Section 2 are complete and that Employee received:

• ☐ Job description (Exhibit A)
• ☐ Preexisting works list (Exhibit B)
• ☐ Paid sick leave notice and policy
• ☐ Vacation and fringe-benefit policies
• ☐ Commission, bonus, or equity plan identified above
• ☐ Employee handbook
• ☐ Other required notices: [LIST]

Exhibit A — Job Description

[INSERT POSITION DUTIES, ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS, REPORTING RELATIONSHIP, WORK LOCATION, AND SCHEDULE.]

Exhibit B — Preexisting Works

☐ None.

☐ The following items are excluded from the assignment in Section 4.3:

[LIST EACH PREEXISTING WORK.]

Sources and References

• Connecticut Department of Labor, Wage and Hour—minimum wage, overtime, records, hiring information, pay schedules, and final pay: https://portal.ct.gov/dol/divisions/wage-and-workplace-standards/wage-and-hour
• Connecticut Department of Labor, Wage Payment Laws (DOL-74): https://portal.ct.gov/dol/-/media/dol/2022-new-design-system/divisions/wage-and-workplace-standards/wagepaymentlaws_update12-2023.pdf
• Connecticut Department of Labor, Wage and Workplace Standards—2026 minimum wage: https://portal.ct.gov/dol/divisions/wage-and-workplace-standards
• Connecticut Department of Labor, 2026 Paid Sick Leave poster: https://portal.ct.gov/dol/-/media/dol/2022-new-design-system/divisions/wage-and-workplace-standards/psl-poster-effective1-1-2026.pdf
• Connecticut Department of Labor, Paid Sick Leave FAQ: https://portal.ct.gov/dol/-/media/dol/2022-new-design-system/divisions/wage-and-workplace-standards/psl-faqs-effective-1-1-25-amended.pdf
• Connecticut General Assembly, current Chapter 558, Wages: https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_558.htm
• Connecticut Judicial Branch, Schofield v. Rafley, Inc., 222 Conn. App. 448 (2023): https://www.jud.ct.gov/legalresources/Docs/LJDocs/Misc/2023/47/CLJ11212023.pdf
• National Labor Relations Board, Employee Rights: https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/your-rights/employee-rights