In our weekly "Ask The Attorney" segment we asked John Garziglia whether or not on-air talent are better off these days having a contract with the company they work for or a simple letter of agreement. For sure we live in a litigious society so what's the right thing to do? Do you want to be locked in so you are assured a paycheck for certain amount of time or do you want a one-sheet allowing yourself some wiggle room? Broadcast attorney John Garziglia lays it out for us this week.
Radio Ink asks: With all the continued consolidation, are Programming talent (PDs, Prod. Directors, jocks) better off with a contract or simple letter of agreement (or, is there not much difference at all)?
Garziglia: To the extent that two parties, in this case ownership and an employee, believe that they have an agreement on certain terms of employment, whether it be compensation, benefits, extent of services, or duties, it is prudent to have such terms of employment memorialized in writing. How terms are memorialized in writing, and whether such writing takes the form of a contract, a simple letter of agreement, or is part of an employee manual, all depends upon what is being agreed to, how enforceable the document is intended to be, and on state employment laws.
The question suggests that a letter agreement is something different than a contract. It is not. A letter agreement can provide for the signatures of each party and often does. For the most part, a letter agreement is just as binding as an identical document titled a ?contract?. Even if a letter agreement is only signed by the sender, it can often be binding on both the sender and the recipient based upon the subsequent actions of the parties.
The question also implies that a program director or air talent, with the consolidation of our industry into group owners, may now be dealing with larger entities in negotiating and accepting employment. To the extent that this is the case, a potential employee of a large entity can be sure that whatever employment document is presented has been vetted by the radio group?s lawyers on behalf of the radio group. Once a PD or air talent reaches a certain level where he or she is presented with a multi-page document detailing terms of offered employment, that PD or air talent is well advised to employ his or her own legal counsel to put him or her on the same negotiating level as the radio group who is well represented by counsel.
While it is difficult to say exactly when a PD or air talent reaches such a level that a lawyer is useful and beneficial in negotiating an employment contract, it is probably safe to observe that if a potential PD or air talent is being asked to agree to any restrictions on future employment in the form of a non-compete, a right of first refusal on the employee?s future services, or monetary penalties for breaches of the agreement, such clauses are probably a good indication that a lawyer on the side of the PD or air talent would be helpful. Here?s hoping that each PD and air talent in our industry one day reaches this level that the hiring of a lawyer to assist in the negotiation of an employment contract is prudent and beneficial.
John F. Garziglia is a Communications Law Attorney with Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice in Washington, DC and can be reached at (202) 857-4455 or jgarziglia@wcsr.com
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