Detroit Employment Law Blog

You have reached a point in your career where you are more than an employee. Companies come to you with contracts when they want your services.

It is absolutely critical that you understand exactly what benefits the contract offers. Below are six things you should look for:

1. Job security: Does the contract protect you from being fired? How much warning should you get and what steps need to be followed if you are going to be terminated?
2. Reasons for termination: Make sure these are as specific as possible. When things are open-ended, you may not have the security that you want.
3. End dates and start dates: Is the contract going to last until you resign or get fired? Or will you only work for the company for a specific time, at the end of which, you'll have to negotiate a new contract?
4. Exclusive employment clauses: If you sign the deal, are you only allowed to work for that company? If you do freelance work on the side -- for a charity you're involved with, for instance -- do you run the risk of getting fired?
5. The full compensation package: Do not just look at the monthly or yearly pay. Check out retirement benefits, health care options and more.
6. Your status if the company is sold: Are the new owners obligated to keep you on, or can they fire you and start over with a new staff? Do you get any compensation if the company is sold and you lose your job?

Jackson Public Schools was ordered to pay a teacher $388,485 in both economic and punitive damages on March 7. After more than a week of trial and litigation, a dispute that began in 2015 was finally settled. However, the school board still has a 30-day period in which they can appeal the decision.

This case fits the standard whistleblower scenario, including alleged acts of retaliation. In October of 2015, the high school art teacher allegedly had a disagreement with a student in her classroom. While she was attempting to take a piece of the student's artwork from him, he either pushed or hit her hand, injuring her.

A former transgender funeral director recently won a favorable decision against Michigan-based R.G & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes for discrimination. The former funeral director was transitioning from a male to a female when she was fired from Harris Funeral Homes in 2013 after disclosing her secret.

Three appellate judges in the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals voted in favor of the transgender woman and against Harris Funeral Homes declaring that "businesses cannot discriminate against employees for identifying as transgender." According to a staff attorney for the Michigan American Civil Liberties Union, this is a victory showing that transgender individuals are protected by federal laws and cannot be discriminated against based on their sex.

A nurse anesthetist, who was allegedly on contract with Sparrow Carson Hospital, complained to the State of Michigan in October about an orthopedic surgeon on staff by the hospital. On Nov. 2, an investigation was opened due to his complaint. Shortly after, the anesthetist was let go from his work at the hospital.

The State had received four other complaints about the orthopedist in the past four year according to records obtained by the State Journal. The complaints against the orthopedist were for high infection rates among his patients.