Elements of a Contract

Nicole Castro

BUS670 Legal Environment

Prof. Robert Tocker

September 2, 2013

A contract of employment is a type of a contract used in labor law to attribute rights and responsibilities between parties to a contract (Blum, 2007). On the one end stands an "employee" who is "employed" by an "employer". A written employment contract is a document that someone and their employee sign which sets forth the terms and conditions of the employment relationship (Tepper, 2011). Many rules, exceptions and considerations apply when dealing with employment contracts. Suppose that the Fabulous Hotel hires you as head chef under a two-year employment contract. After two years, another hotel wants to hire you. However, in the original employment contract you signed with the fabulous Hotel, the following paragraph appears: “The below-signed agrees not to work as a chef for another hotel in the same metropolitan area for a period of two years after leaving our employ.” First, it is crucial to know and understand which law governs the employment contract. According to Seaquist, contract law is governed by the common law or the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) (Seaquist, 2012). If the contract handles the sales of goods, it is governed by the UCC (Seaquist, 2012). If the contract handles anything besides the sale of goods (such as real estate, insurance, personal services like employment, etc.) then it is governed by the common law (Seaquist, 2012). When a business or employer hires an employee to join the staff, the employee enters into a contract that is governed by the fundamentals of common law. There are circumstances where a contract relates to both goods and services. In that case, determining which is the greater, the cost of the goods (handled by UCC) or the costs of the services (handled by common law) establishes which law