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Before signing, find out who your legal employer will be, which existing agreements remain in force, and exactly how pay, equity, benefits, service credit, and new restrictions will work. Ask for the complete agreement and every document it incorporates, then make sure important promises appear in the signed documents. This guide is U.S.-oriented; the governing law, transaction structure, and contract language can change the answer, so it is not individualized legal advice.
Should you ask for the full agreement before signing?
Yes. Request the complete employment agreement and every plan, policy, award agreement, or side letter it refers to before you sign. Read those materials together: an offer letter may state a headline salary while another document controls bonus eligibility, equity, dispute resolution, or repayment obligations. Ask for unclear or oral promises to be put in writing in the agreement or an authorized addendum.
- Current and proposed employment agreements, offer letters, and amendments.
- Confidentiality and invention-assignment agreements, restrictive-covenant documents, and any document you are asked to reaffirm.
- Compensation, bonus, commission, benefits, leave, severance, and equity plans or policies that apply to you.
- Equity award agreements and transaction-specific documents affecting existing or proposed awards.
- Any release, repayment undertaking, or side letter included in the package.
Who will employ you, and what happens to your current agreement?
Ask for the full legal name of the new employer, its location, and the date the new terms take effect. Confirm whether the employer is the buyer, a parent company, or another affiliate; a corporate group name alone may not identify the entity that owes your pay or benefits.
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- Does the new agreement replace your offer letter, employment contract, confidentiality agreement, invention assignment, or other existing documents?
- Which prior obligations survive, and which are terminated or amended?
- Does accepting the new job require you to resign from the acquired company, and if so, on what date?
- Will your employment be treated as continuous or as a new hire for each relevant purpose?
Do not assume that the label “acqui-hire” determines whether employment continues or restarts. The transaction documents, employment documents, and applicable law matter. Some covered transfers outside the U.S. have specific continuity rules; for example, UK government guidance describes continuity and protections for existing terms under TUPE. That UK regime is not a general rule for U.S. employees.
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What are the complete pay and work terms?
Compare the written terms with what you have now, and identify the document that controls each item. New York Attorney General guidance recommends reading and understanding every document an employer asks you to sign and notes that a contract can be negotiated.
- Pay: Base salary, bonus or commission formula, eligibility date, performance conditions, and payment timing. Ask whether any amount is guaranteed or discretionary.
- Transition or retention payments: Record each amount, payment date, service requirement, forfeiture condition, and repayment trigger separately from salary.
- Benefits and leave: Identify the governing plans, eligibility dates, coverage start, paid-time-off rules, and treatment of accrued balances.
- Role and location: Confirm title, duties, reporting line, work location, remote-work terms, employment status, and any mobility requirement.
- Severance: Ask whether a specific benefit is promised, what triggers it, and whether it depends on signing a release or meeting other conditions.
What happens to your equity and prior service?
Ask for a written accounting of existing awards and any new grant. The deal and plan documents determine the treatment; there is no general acqui-hire rule that guarantees equity carries over, accelerates, or restarts on a particular schedule.
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- For existing awards, identify vested and unvested amounts, options or shares, exercise deadlines, and any cancellation, conversion, or cash-out treatment.
- For a new grant, confirm the award type, number or value of units, vesting start date, cliff, schedule, and any transaction-related conditions.
- Ask whether prior service counts toward vesting, benefits eligibility, paid leave, or severance, and whether accrued balances transfer.
- Request the equity plan, each applicable award agreement, and transaction-specific documents; a stated grant value alone does not explain its terms or potential value.
What restrictions would apply during and after employment?
Read the actual language of every restriction, including any terms carried forward from an earlier agreement. For each one, ask what conduct and entities it covers, how long it lasts, where it applies, what exceptions exist, and whether it changes if the employer terminates you without cause.
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- Nonsolicitation: Does it cover customers, prospective customers, employees, or other groups, and what counts as solicitation?
- Confidentiality and inventions: What information is covered, what prior inventions are excluded, and how must you disclose them?
- Other terms: Check nondisparagement, repayment, and dispute-resolution provisions, including their scope and consequences.
The New York Attorney General advises workers to ask whether they must sign a noncompete, read it, and consider negotiating its terms. Its guidance says: “No law requires you to sign a noncompete, but an employer is allowed to ask you to sign one before or after you start work.” That statement is presented in a New York context, not as a rule for every state. The FTC’s current page says its Noncompete Rule is not in effect and is not enforceable; do not treat it as a nationwide ban. State law can differ. For example, Massachusetts General Laws §24L sets requirements for covered noncompetition agreements and excludes several categories from its statutory definition. Because enforceability depends on location and wording, consider having an employment lawyer review significant restrictions before signing.
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Does the package include a release or waiver?
If you are asked to release claims, identify what new value you receive in exchange and whether payment depends on signing, not revoking, or complying with other terms. Check what claims and time periods the release covers, and whether it purports to waive future claims, vested plan benefits, or rights that cannot legally be waived.
EEOC guidance says an agreement should not bar you from filing a charge, testifying, assisting, or cooperating with the agency. The validity and decision period for a release depend on the circumstances and its terms. If you have a significant potential claim or the consideration is substantial, ask an employment lawyer to review the release.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Could layoffs or WARN notice affect you?
Ask whether layoffs are expected, whether the acquired business will be integrated or closed, and which entity would provide any required notice. The U.S. Department of Labor’s WARN Advisor says that, for WARN purposes, the seller is responsible for notice when a covered termination or layoff occurs before a business sale, while the buyer is responsible when it occurs afterward.
That timing rule does not establish that WARN applies to a particular employee or transaction. Coverage depends on facts including the employer, number of affected employees, timing, and location. State mini-WARN laws may impose separate requirements.
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If you have another option, how should you compare it?
Compare the written terms and conditions, not just headline salary. Consider guaranteed cash, variable compensation, equity value and vesting risk, benefit continuity, service credit, termination protection, restrictive-covenant scope, and the rights surrendered in any release. The documents may not support a universal or reliable formula for valuing a private-company equity award.
When should you get legal help?
Consider independent employment-law counsel when the agreement adds or expands a noncompete or other material restriction, includes a release, changes substantial equity or compensation rights, or leaves continuity and termination terms unclear. A lawyer can review the actual new agreement alongside prior agreements, equity plans and awards, and any release under the law applicable to your situation.
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