In a right-to-work state, what protections can an individual realistically expect to receive from a contract?
You're thinking of "At-Will" employment, which allows employees and employers to end an employment relationship at any time for any (except for the few illegal) reasons.
Right to work at its most generic level means freedom from being forced into a union, not freedom from being held to a contract.
Nobody has these except top execs who are already in a huge position of power.
> vacation days, sick days, payout of the same
Nope, not anymore: nothing is guaranteed with "flexible time off". I literally cannot meet my performance goal if I take more than 1 day of sick/vacation day PER YEAR. Yes, my raises are tied to this performance goal. Yes, it's probably illegal, but who cares? Nobody is ever going to do anything about it. This is every company with FTO. Who gets "paid out" for PTO anymore?
> IP guarantees for hobby work
You're joking, right? Most employment contracts claim that they own the slam poetry you write on your napkin at 2:00 am on a Saturday while high on your couch. Every mention of IP in an employment contract is as greedy as possible.
> employment benefits
Ok but in a right to work state these can be terminated any time anyway.
Literally nothing about an employment contract is ever written in favor of the actual employee. Of course it's not: they wrote it. If every company in an industry does this and they all refuse to negotiate, workers have no choice but to sign it. It's crazy to me to think that a U.S. company would voluntarily ever do anything in the interest of any of its employees, ever. This is the whole reason why ambiguities are supposed to go in favor of the party that didn't write it. Voiding any part of an employee contract can therefore only ever benefit the employee (except possibly the part where they get paid). If you want protections for employees, look to regulation and unions, not contracts written by the employer.
If you want protections for employees, sure you can (erroneously, in my opinion) look to unions. If you want protections for yourself, look to negotiate.
why not get another job?
Actual employment contracts are rare in the US. I think because don't want legal hassle for most employees, but executives and other important employees have contracts.
Other countries have contracts for every employee. I assume they use a standard contract for most employees, and that the laws limit the scope.
* anything you negotiated during hiring like RSU or sign-on bonuses
* stating your salary, benefits, vacation is the basis for protecting you from theft of that compensation.
* IP ownership clauses can protect your independent, off the clock work
* work location, if you are hired remote and then threatened with termination due to new RTO policies
I am just pulling from the top of my head general examples.
