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      • Dental Associate Employment Contracts 
        • Can a Dental Associate Break Their Contract?
        • How a Dentist Should Negotiate a Contract |  Negotiating Dental Agreement
        • How is a Dentist Given a Draw in a Contract? | Dental Contracts with a Draw
        • Red Flags in a Dentist Employment Contract | Dental Employment Agreement Concerns
        • What Should a Dentist put in a Termination Letter? | Dental Contract
      • Dental Malpractice Insurance
        • Claims Made Insurance for a Dental Associate Explained | Same as Occurrence Claim for Dentists?
        • How Much Does Tail Insurance Cost for a Dentist?
        • Occurrence Based Insurance for a Dental Associate Explained | Different From Claims Made for Dentists
        • Dental Claims Made or Occurrence Insurance? (Professional Liability)
        • What is Tail Insurance for a Dentist? |  Malpractice Insurance for Dentists
      • Dental Non Compete Clause
        • Dental Associate Non Compete vs Non Solicit | Solicitation Concerns for Dentists
        • Dental Non Compete Mile Radius Explained | Non Compete for a Dentist
        • Dental Non Compete (How Long is ENFORCEABLE?)
        • Dentist Non Compete Restricted Offices Explained | Restrictive Covenants in Dental Practice
        • Is a Non-Compete Enforceable Against a Dentist? | Dentist Non Competition Enforceability
      • Dental Contract Benefits 
        • Dentist Employment Agreement (Bonus REPAYMENT?)
        • How Much PTO Should a Dental Associate Get? | How Many Days of Time Off Should a Dentist Get?
        • How Much Should a Dentist Get for CE Expenses? | Continuing Education Cost for a Dental Associate
        • Should a Dentist be Reimbursed for Moving Expenses? | Dental Expenses
        • What Expenses Should a Dental Practice Pay For a Dentist?: Dentistry Office Expense Costs for the Dentist to Be Reimbursed
      • Dental Independent Contractor Agreements
        • Are Dentists Usually Self Employed?
        • Dentist Independent Contractor Tax Deductions
        • Dentist Independent Contractor vs Employee | Dental Employees vs Independent Contractors
        • Is a W2 or 1099 Better for a Dental Associate?
        • What Is a 1099 Dentist?
    • Nurse Practitioner Contract Attorney
      • Nurse Practitioner Employment Contracts
        • Can a Nurse Practitioner Break Their Contract?
        • How a Nurse Practitioner Should Negotiate a Contract
        • Red Flags in a Nurse Practitioner Employment Contract
        • What is the Most Common Nurse Practitioner Compensation Model?
        • What Needs to go in a Nurse Practitioner Termination Letter?
      • Nurse Practitioner Malpractice Insurance
        • Claims Made Insurance for a Nurse Practitioner Explained
        • How Much Does Tail Insurance Cost for a Nurse Practitioner?
        • Occurrence Based Insurance for a Nurse Practitioner Explained
        • Should a Nurse Practitioner Choose Claims Made or Occurrence?
        • Tail Insurance for a Nurse Practitioner Explained
      • Nurse Practitioner Non Compete Clauses
        • How Many Locations Should a Nurse Practitioner Non Compete Apply To?
        • Nurse Practitioner Non-Competes (ENFORCEABLE?)
        • Is a 2 Year Non Compete for a Nurse Practitioner Reasonable? | NP Non Compete
        • Nurse Practitioner Non-Compete (Is it ENFORCEABLE?)
        • Nurse Practitioner Non Compete vs Non Solicit
      • Nurse Practitioner Contract Benefits
        • Does a Nurse Practitioner Repay a Bonus if the Contract is Terminated?
        • Nurse Practitioner PTO (How MUCH Should You GET?)
        • Nurse Practitioner Relocation (How MUCH Is Enough?)
        • Nurse Practitioner Benefits Package (What Is FAIR?)
        • What Nurse Practitioner Expenses Should an Employer Pay For?
      • Nurse Practitioner Independent Contract Agreements
        • Is a W2 or 1099 Better for a Nurse Practitioner?
        • Nurse Practitioner Independent Contractor Tax Deductions
        • Nurse Practitioner Independent Contractor vs Employee
        • Nurse Practitioner Self Employed vs Independent Contractor
        • What is a 1099 Nurse Practitioner?
    • Optometrist Contract Attorney
    • Physician Contract Attorney
      • Medical Employment Contracts
        • J-1
          • ECFMG Certification Requirements | Certification Requirement
        • How Long Should a Physician Contract Be?
        • Should a Physician Accept an Arbitration Clause? | Medical Agreements
        • What is the Best Without Cause Termination Length in a Physician Contract? | Physician Dismissal
      • Medical Malpractice Insurance
        • Understanding Claims-Made Insurance (Is Occurrence BETTER?)
        • Occurrence Insurance (Is Tail Coverage NEEDED?)
        • Occurrence Based Malpractice (What SHOULD a Physician Choose?)
        • Tail Coverage Insurance (How EXPENSIVE Is It for a Physician?)
        • Physician Tail Coverage (Do Doctors PAY with Claims Made?)
        • Tail Insurance Cost for a Physician (Malpractice Insurance Cost)
        • 3 Ways a Physician Can Get Out of Paying for Tail Insurance | Medical Liability
      • Non-Compete Agreements
        • Is 10 Miles a Reasonable Restriction in a Physician Non-Compete?
        • Is a 2-Year Physician Non-Compete Too Long?
        • How Many Locations Should a Physician Non-Compete Apply to?
        • Is a Non-Compete Enforceable Against a Physician? | Physician Non-Compete
      • Medical Professional Contract Benefits
        • How Much Should an Employer Give a Physician for CME Expenses?
        • What Physician Business Expenses Should an Employer Pay For?
        • How Much Vacation Time Do Doctors Get?
        • Physician Relocation (How MUCH Reimbursement Should You Get?)
        • Hospital Sign on Bonus Pay Back | Repay a Bonus When Doctor Leaves?
        • Does A Physician Have to Repay Relocation Assistance If They Leave?
      • Independent Contractor Agreements
        • Can a Physician Be an Independent Contractor?
        • Physician Independent Contractor vs Employee
        • Is a W2 or 1099 Better for a Physician? | Physicians Contract
        • What is a 1099 Physician?
        • What Percentage of Physicians are Self-Employed?
    • Physician Assistant Contract Attorney
      • Physician Assistant Employment Contracts
        • Can a Physician Assistant Break Their Contract?
        • How To Negotiate a PA Contract (Better Salary TIPS)
        • Red Flags in a Physician Assistant Employment Contract?
        • How Are PAs Compensated? (2 BEST Ways To Get PAID)
        • What Should Go Into a Physician Assistant Termination Letter?
      • Physician Assistant Malpractice Insurance
        • How Much Does Tail Insurance Cost for a Physician Assistant? | Malpractice Insurance
        • Physician Assistant Malpractice Insurance (Do You NEED Claims Made?)
        • Tail Insurance for a Physician Assistant Explained
        • What is Claims Made Insurance for a Physician Assistant?
        • Occurrence Based Insurance for a PA (Malpractice Basics)
      • Physician Assistant Non Compete Clauses
        • How Many Locations Should a Physician Assistant Non Compete Apply To?
        • Is 10 Miles a Reasonable Non Compete for a Physician Assistant?
        • Is a 2 Year Non Compete for a Physician Assistant Reasonable?
        • Is a Non Compete Enforceable Against a Physician Assistant?
        • Physician Assistant Non Compete vs Non Solicit | Compete vs Solicitation
      • Physician Assistant Contract Benefits
        • Physician Assistant Sign-On Bonus (Will You Have to Give it BACK?)
        • How Much Paid Time Off Should a Physician Assistant Get?
        • Should a Physician Assistant be Reimbursed for Moving Expenses?
        • What Benefits Should Go In a Physician Assistant Offer Letter?
        • What Physician Assistant Expenses Should an Employer Pay For?
      • Physician Assistant Independent Contractor Agreements
        • Can a Physician Assistant be Self Employed?
        • Is a W2 or 1099 Better for a Physician Assistant?
        • Physician Assistant Independent Contractor Tax Deductions
        • Physician Assistant Independent Contractor vs Employee
        • What is a 1099 Physician Assistant?
    • Veterinarian Contract Attorney
      • Veterinary Associate Employment Contracts
        • Can You Break a Veterinary Associate Contract?
        • Veterinary Production Based Salary (Compensation Calculator)
        • How to Negotiate a Veterinary Associate Contract?
        • Red Flags in a Veterinary Associate Contract
        • What Should be in a Veterinary Associate Termination Letter?
      • Veterinary Malpractice Insurance
        • What is AVMA Excess Limit Coverage?
        • What is AVMA Veterinary License Defense Insurance?
        • What is Occurrence Insurance for a Veterinarian?
        • What is the AVMA PLIT?
        • Veterinary Malpractice Insurance (Do Vets NEED Tail Coverage?)
      • Veterinary Non Compete Agreements
        • How Many Locations Should a Veterinary Non Compete Apply To?
        • Is a Non Compete Enforceable Against a Veterinarian (ETHICAL?)
        • Veterinarian Non Solicit vs Non Compete
        • Veterinary Non Compete Mile Radius Explained
        • Veterinary Non Compete Time Limits Explained
      • Veterinary Professional Contract Benefits
        • How Much PTO Should a Veterinary Associate Get?
        • Veterinary Continuing Education (Is $2000 TOO Much?)
        • Veterinarian Sign-On Bonus (Must You Pay It BACK?)
        • Should a Veterinarian be Reimbursed for Moving Expenses?
        • What Veterinarian Business Expenses Should an Employer Pay For?
      • Veterinary Independent Contractor Agreements
        • Pros and Cons of Employment at a Corporate Veterinary Office
        • Should a Veterinarian be a W2 or a 1099?
        • Veterinarian Independent Contractor Tax Deductions
        • Veterinary Independent Contractor vs Employee
        • What is a 1099 Veterinarian?
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Red Flags in a Physician Assistant Employment Contract? | Medical Employment Contract Red Flags

What are some red flags in physician assistant contracts? Sometimes the red flags are the words on the page, but other times red flags are missing. I’m going to go over the most common red flags that I see in a physician assistant employment agreement. The first one would probably be unreasonable non-compete clauses. Depending on your state, most states’ non-compete clauses for healthcare providers are enforceable, but you do want to check your state law. If they are enforceable, you want to check is it reasonable? What I mean by that is, normally, a non-compete clause will be anywhere from one to two years. I always try to advocate for at least one year only, not over a year.

One year, it should be, or less. It could be six months, that would be great. And then you want to look at the restricted area. Typically, it goes by miles and it kind of depends. You must take into consideration where you’re located and what your makeup looks like. Like, are you in a rural area? Are you in a city? And then you want to see, okay, is this mileage unreasonable? Really anything over 30 miles is going to be, in my opinion, unreasonable. And I would try to negotiate that down. So, we’ve talked about how long they’re for, and then how much is included in that restricted area from competing with your employer. The other thing you want to look for is how many locations does that restricted radius apply to? This is a little tricky and a lot of times employers try to slip this in there.

They may say or have language in there that states any location of the practice with the company, or they’ll say any location you provide services at. That means if you fill in for a provider that’s on vacation, you’re a non-compete clause now attached to that location. Let’s just say you have 10 miles from your primary location, but now you could have 10 miles attached to multiple other locations. This is dangerous especially if let’s say the company expands while you work for them. And it could knock out a huge chunk of the state. You may have to move if you decide to end your employment. So, overly restrictive non-compete is a red flag. The other thing you want to look for in a non-compete itself is what services are you restricted from? Other topics of interest include:

  • What is the Most Common Physician Assistant Compensation Model?
  • Can a Physician Assistant Break Their Contract?

If you’re a PA who’s offering services and for a general practitioner, you shouldn’t really be excluded from providing services for maybe general surgery or psychiatric care or something like a totally different specialty, you shouldn’t be restricted from doing that. And it depends on the state if you’re allowed to switch specialties, but anyway, you just want to know what you’re restricted from providing. Those are the red flags that kind of go with the non-compete clause. The next major red flag I see in contracts is something that’s missing. There should always, and I mean, always be a without cause termination clause in your contract. And without cause termination means either party can terminate the agreement or your employment for any reason or no reason at all. You don’t even have to give one. Normally, you just must give a certain amount of notice.

And that notice period is typically anywhere from 60 to 90 days. If you’re in a very rural area or a high-need area, sometimes I see it go up to 120, but I would probably ask to have that limited to 90 days. You just simply give your notice and then at the end of that, your agreement has terminated, and you guys can go your separate ways. Sometimes contracts don’t have that language in there. They’ll say that you’re contracted to work for your employer for anywhere, usually, two to three years. And the only way to get out of it is to ask them to be released. This is a dangerous spot to be in because they might not want to release you, and then you have to make a difficult decision if you want to breach your contract.

And that gets into a whole other mess. So, always look for a without cause termination. Okay, so we’ve gone through non-compete clauses, without cause termination should always be included and then you should always have your benefits. If you’re getting health benefits, retirement, disability, and life insurance, all those things should be outlined in your agreement. Now, they’re not probably going to go into detail about how much you’re paying in premiums, that kind of thing, but they should mention that it will be offered to you. So, that should also be in there as well. Then let’s talk about your compensation. Compensation obviously should be in there. A red flag is if you can’t figure out how you’re getting paid. And I have seen this before. Many physician assistants are paid with a flat base or hourly or per shift. But you’re easily able to calculate how much you’re going to be making.

But when you have things like patient quotas and there’s like weird metrics, RVUs are typically not used in a physician assistant contract, but if there are RVUs, you want to make sure you know how much you’re getting per RVU, how that’s calculated and when you’re paid out for those. If anything on collection, you want to know what percentage of collections you’re getting and when you get paid out for those. You want to be able to figure out what you’re making and how it’s calculated. The other red flag I see in sort of the compensation range is whenever you get a sign-on bonus or relocation bonus or relocation expenses. Normally, you’ll get a bonus which is a large amount of money that you’re going to get upfront upon signing this agreement. You want to be careful because there are sometimes red flags in those, because there are normally strings attached, which means that by accepting that money, you’re agreeing to stay employed for normally two to three years with your employer.

And if you terminate your agreement for any reason, even without cause, you will have to pay back either that entire bonus or you’ll have to pay it back at a prorated amount. Now, there’s always going to be some type of payback provision, but a red flag is when you have to pay back the entire amount because when you receive that money, it’s taxed as income. And so, therefore, let’s say the bonus is 10,000. Well, when you get that bonus, you’re not going to receive the full 10,000 because taxes will be taken off the top. So, it’s best if it’s prorated which means for every month that you’re employed, a portion of that amount that you must pay back is forgiven. So, that’s something that’s important as well. And then lastly, other red flags might be no CME allowance, and continuing medical education.

This is something that you need to practice and provide services for your employer. So, they really should reimburse you for that or give you an allowance per year. And that can be anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000, normally.

Breaking an Employment Contract with Red Flags

Can a physician assistant break their contract? The answer is yes, they can. However, if breaking their contract means that they’re breaching it, they’re not adhering to the terms that they agreed upon with this job, they may have some legal or financial consequences that you will want to consider before making that decision. So, before you break the contract, there are normally lots of different ways that you can be led out of your contract. You always want to go to your employment agreement and read it very carefully. There are normally many clauses on termination. Your employer can terminate your agreement for cause if you have violated some policies, you’ve lost your license of practice, or you’re convicted of a crime. There’s normally enumerated the list there.

And if any of that happens, then your employer will terminate the agreement. Another way you can be let out of your employment agreement is a without cause termination. Most employment contracts and you want to read yours carefully, will have a clause in there that says you may terminate your employment without cause. It can be for any reason or no reason at all upon giving a certain amount of notice. The range can be anywhere from 60 to 90 days. Occasionally, if you’re in a rural area or a high-need area, sometimes it can go up to 120 days. If you want out of your contract, you need to give written notice and it needs to be given properly. Again, this can be a little unique to each situation, so you want to look at the employment agreement and it will state how you need to give proper notice.

It’s usually always in writing, it can be hand-delivered to certain personnel, sometimes it must go through certified mail, other times you’re able to email it to certain personnel as well. So, just make sure you give your notice properly and you give your notice at the appropriate time. Like we talked about, it’s normally 60 to 90 days and then you can be let out of your agreement, that’s the best way to do it. However, even if you do it this way, there still might be some financial consequences. If you received any type of sign-on bonus or relocation bonus or reimbursement, those types of bonuses when you’re given a lump sum upfront whenever you’re starting your employment, normally have some sort of requirement that you must complete a certain period with the company. This is normally anywhere from one to three years.

Employee of a Practice Seeking a New Job

And if you terminate your employment for any reason within that time, you may have to pay back that entire bonus, or you may have to pay back the bonus at a prorated amount which means however many months you’ve been there, a portion of that amount is forgiven. You always want to be careful that you’re not just breaching the contract. Again, because even if you breach the agreement, there may be something in your contract called liquidated damages or something about damages. Meaning, if you break this agreement and you don’t give proper notice, you will have to pay your employer tens of thousands of dollars. So, this is something you always want to look out for. I do see this in about 50% of all the contracts that I review, so you want to be careful. Breaking a contract is serious. So, I always recommend consulting an attorney. That’s something we do here at our firm to make sure that you are terminating your contract properly.

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Based on 174 reviews
Destinee Hamlet
Destinee Hamlet
2023-01-31
Everyone was very helpful and professional. Felicia answered all my questions and made the process super easy and stress free.
Gabriela Martinez
Gabriela Martinez
2023-01-29
Definitely recommend! I’m a nurse practitioner and was able to renegotiate my contract with the help of Chelle Law. The outcomes were above expectations.
Linda Price
Linda Price
2023-01-27
I placed my trust in Chelle Law to handle my issue with the State Board of Nursing and they did not disappoint. Service was professional and courteous. I could not have asked for a better outcome. I highly recommend this firm!
Anni R
Anni R
2023-01-25
I had a great experience with Chelle Law. I’m so glad I found them and hired their services. Their communication was on point 👌 they’re very professional, always kept me updated, always returned my calls and emails in a timely manner. They’re compassionate and understanding of every situation. I would 100% use them again and refer them to anyone.
Chin Kim
Chin Kim
2023-01-24
Great hep overall. Fast response and even it was an hour review, the attorney stayed on the phone longer to answer all my questions.
Amelia
Amelia
2023-01-20
Booking the consultation was easy and I got all my questions answered! Excellent customer service.
Steven Yang
Steven Yang
2023-01-18
I am a veterinarian about 3 years+ out from school changing jobs for the first time since graduating . The idea of needing to closely review a contract was foreign to me and I honestly had no idea what I would be signing . Luckily I found Chelle law and worked with Erin who put all my worries at ease . She took the time and even went over our scheduled time slot to review / translate every section of my contract and make valuable suggestions that I could bring up to my future employer. Throughout our discussion it was clear to me that Chelle law is very familiar with the intricacies of a veterinary contract and what it typically should entail. I was very pleased with my experience .
Tiffany Efantis
Tiffany Efantis
2023-01-11
I used Chelle law for a non-compete clause review. I was referred to them by a friend. They were helpful, quick, and affordable for what I needed. I will definitely use them again for any employment contract review in the future!
Nicholas Peracchio
Nicholas Peracchio
2022-12-13
Erin was so thorough with my contract I felt extremely confident in my negotiations and ended up getting everything I wanted and more! I can’t recommend her enough. She took her time and made sure I understood everything I was signing and did so with a kind and caring demeanor. Thanks so much Erin!!
Seth Bricel
Seth Bricel
2022-12-13
I needed a lawyer to review my partnership contract and Chelle Law provided a great experience at a fair price. My lawyer thoroughly explained the meaning of the contract in terms I could understand and provided valuable perspective as to which parts were normal and which parts were atypical or in need of modification. Thanks to their help, I've reached a contract that I and my partners are very happy with!

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