0:01

Probably the most important issue

0:02

that the employee will be concerned

0:04

with in reviewing the termination provisions in his

0:07

or her employment agreement are the circumstances in which

0:10

they can be terminated for cause.

0:15

In some circumstances,

0:16

the employment agreement will provide an exhaustive list

0:19

of situations that constitute cause and others.

0:23

The definition of cause may vary

0:25

and be only an illustration

0:28

of the situations in which an employer can

0:30

terminate an employee for cause.

0:32

From the employee's perspective, it's important

0:34

for the employment agreement

0:36

to establish the very specific circumstances that he

0:40

or she can be terminated for cause as opposed

0:43

to providing some subjective

0:45

or other terms upon which the employer may make the

0:48

determination that the relationship be terminated for cause.

0:53

In addition to having established the circumstances in which

0:57

you can be terminated for cause,

0:59

it's also critically important

1:01

for the employment agreement provision

1:04

to address cure periods.

1:06

And while cure periods may not apply for all

1:08

for cause termination events,

1:10

there are circumstances in which from the employee's

1:12

perspective it is very important to have a cure.

1:15

Right? It's also very important for the employee

1:18

to understand the actual circumstances that have arisen

1:23

that would allow the employer to terminate for cause.

1:27

And so in almost all instances, we want the employer

1:29

to provide in writing a detailed notice of the actual acts

1:34

or omissions that occurred

1:36

that are creating the circumstance in which the employer's

1:39

wanting to actually elect

1:41

to terminate the employment agreement for cause.

1:44

Typical for cause, events

1:46

that you'll find in an employment agreement include loss

1:49

of physician license, loss of DEA privileges,

1:54

including failure to comply with both the terms

1:57

of the employment agreement or any policies

2:00

and procedures of the employer.

2:02

And here we always wanna make clear that they are written

2:06

policies and procedures so

2:07

that they are not new policies created on the fly

2:11

that could give the employer the right

2:13

to terminate for cause.

2:15

In addition to these events,

2:17

you will sometimes see subjective determinations, so

2:20

for example, acts in the reasonable discretion

2:24

or sole discretion of the employer

2:26

that can materially harm the reputation

2:29

or business of the employer.

2:32

In circumstances where we see subjective language, we try

2:35

to our very best in representing physicians on the employee

2:39

side to either remove these subjective provisions

2:42

or to make them more specific so

2:44

that there's definitely an opportunity for the physician

2:48

to be aware of how he

2:49

or she can best behave

2:51

to create these circumstances from ever coming up.

2:54

And although I've talked about this in a prior slide,

2:57

is critically important if there's gonna be a subjective

2:59

termination for cause event

3:02

that the employee receive both notice of the event

3:05

and have a reasonable opportunity

3:07

to cure the actual activity.