As we move into 2026, I'm having more conversations with business owners about employment agreements than I have in years. And it's not hard to understand why—the landscape has shifted significantly, and the businesses that are getting ahead of these changes now are positioning themselves to avoid costly problems down the road.

If you're growing your Wisconsin business, employment agreements aren't just HR paperwork. They're strategic tools that protect your business, clarify expectations, and help you retain the talent that makes your company successful. Let's talk about what you need to know to get these agreements right for the year ahead.

Why Employment Agreements Matter More Than Ever

Here's what I tell clients: employment agreements are where business strategy meets legal protection. A well-crafted agreement does more than outline job duties—it protects your intellectual property, clarifies compensation expectations, establishes clear performance standards, and provides a roadmap for how things work when they don't work out.

The businesses I work with understand that prevention is more cost-effective than crisis management. They know that spending time now to update employment agreements will save them from disputes, regulatory headaches, and expensive litigation later.

Non-Compete Agreements: Navigating the New Reality

Let's start with the issue that's generating the most questions: non-compete agreements.

The regulatory environment around non-competes has become significantly more complex. While some businesses are hearing that non-competes are "dead," that's not accurate—and they do require more strategic thinking than ever before.

What's working now:

Rather than broad non-compete restrictions, I'm helping clients implement more targeted protections that focus on what really matters to their business. This includes robust non-solicitation agreements that prevent employees from raiding your customer base or poaching your team, confidentiality and trade secret protections that safeguard your proprietary information, and customer relationship provisions that protect the goodwill you've built.

The key question to ask yourself: What are you actually trying to protect? Once we identify that, we can craft provisions that are both enforceable and focused on your real business interests.

For many Wisconsin businesses, especially in manufacturing, healthcare, and financial services, the answer isn't abandoning protective agreements—it's making them more strategic and tailored to what courts will enforce.

Remote Work Policies: Clarity Is Everything

The remote work conversation isn't new, but I'm seeing businesses struggle with ambiguity in their employment agreements about where, when, and how work gets done.

Your employment agreements should address workplace expectations clearly. This means specifying whether positions are in-office, hybrid, or fully remote, establishing core business hours or availability requirements, clarifying which equipment and expenses the company provides, and outlining security and confidentiality requirements for remote work environments.

The mistake I see most often: Businesses that verbally agree to flexible arrangements without documenting them in writing. When disputes arise—and they do—those informal agreements become very expensive to sort out.

One manufacturing client recently learned this the hard way when an employee claimed a remote work arrangement was promised, but nothing was in writing. We resolved it, but it cost far more than updating their employment agreement template would have.

Compensation Structure Updates: Beyond Base Salary

If your business is growing, your compensation structures are likely evolving too. Your employment agreements need to reflect that evolution clearly.

I'm working with clients to ensure their agreements address base salary with clear review and adjustment timelines, bonus structures tied to specific performance metrics or business outcomes, equity or profit-sharing arrangements with detailed vesting and valuation terms, and benefit packages with clear eligibility and enrollment requirements.

Here's why this matters: Ambiguous compensation language leads to disputes. When employees don't understand how bonuses are calculated or when equity vests, you're setting yourself up for conflict. And when those conflicts arise during growth phases—right when you need your team focused on scaling the business—they're particularly disruptive.

The goal is for everyone to understand exactly what they're earning and why. That alignment creates motivation rather than confusion.

Performance Review and Termination Protocols: Planning for the Difficult Conversations

Nobody wants to think about terminating employees when they're hiring them. But understanding how things work when they don't work out is exactly what I do as a litigator—and it's why I emphasize these provisions in employment agreements.

Your agreements should establish:

Clear performance expectations and review timelines, documentation requirements for performance issues, progressive discipline procedures when appropriate, termination notice requirements and procedures, and post-employment obligations including return of property and continued confidentiality.

I've litigated enough employment disputes to know that the businesses with clear, well-documented procedures dramatically reduce their litigation risk. More importantly, they create fairer processes that good employees appreciate and poor performers can't exploit.

The litigation-informed perspective: When employment relationships go sideways, courts and juries look at whether you followed your own procedures. If your handbook says one thing and your practice does another, you're creating liability. Consistency between your written policies and actual practice isn't just good management—it's essential legal protection.

Handbook Updates: Regulatory Changes You Can't Ignore

Your employee handbook works hand-in-hand with individual employment agreements, and 2026 brings several regulatory changes that affect Wisconsin businesses.

You should be reviewing and updating policies around leave requirements including FMLA and state-specific protections, anti-discrimination and harassment provisions reflecting current standards, wage and hour compliance with updated overtime and classification rules, workplace safety and reporting requirements, and data privacy and security policies for employee information.

Here's my approach: Your handbook and individual employment agreements should work together seamlessly. The handbook provides the general framework, while individual agreements address role-specific requirements and protections.

Many businesses I work with do annual handbook reviews during Q1—right now is the perfect time to ensure you're current with regulatory changes before they become compliance issues.

Industry-Specific Considerations

Different industries face unique employment law challenges. Let me share what I'm seeing with some of the businesses I work with most:

Manufacturing Companies need to pay special attention to safety requirements and training documentation, overtime and shift differential arrangements, union versus non-union workforce considerations, and proprietary process and trade secret protections.

Healthcare Practices and Medical Spas are navigating medical licensing and credentialing requirements, patient confidentiality and HIPAA compliance, scope of practice limitations, and mixed medical and non-medical staff considerations.

Dental Practices and DSOs face unique challenges with clinical versus administrative employee distinctions, patient relationship and goodwill protections, multi-location employment arrangements, and partnership track provisions for associate dentists.

Financial Institutions must address regulatory compliance and licensing requirements, customer relationship and non-solicitation provisions, confidential financial information protections, and compensation tied to performance metrics.

Each industry requires tailored employment agreement language that reflects both general employment law principles and specific regulatory requirements.

Making This Actionable: Your Employment Agreement Audit

Let me make this practical. Here's how to approach updating your employment agreements for 2026:

Step 1: Review Current Agreements

Pull your current employment agreement templates and recent hires. Look for gaps, ambiguities, and outdated provisions. If you're using agreements that are more than two years old, they almost certainly need updates.

Step 2: Identify Your Priorities

What are you trying to protect? Customer relationships? Proprietary processes? Team stability? Your employment agreements should reflect your actual business priorities, not generic template language.

Step 3: Update for Current Law

Ensure your agreements comply with current non-compete standards, remote work expectations, wage and hour requirements, and leave and accommodation obligations.

Step 4: Align with Business Strategy

As your business grows, your employment agreements should evolve too. Are you expanding geographically? Developing new product lines? Implementing new technology? Your agreements should support those strategic initiatives.

Step 5: Implement Consistently

Updated agreements only work if you use them. Every new hire should receive your current template. Existing employees should sign updated agreements when their roles change or during compensation reviews.

The Cost of Waiting

I've seen what happens when businesses wait until they have a problem to address employment agreement issues. A departing employee takes your customer list because your non-solicitation provision was poorly drafted. A terminated employee claims discrimination because your documentation was inconsistent. A key team member leaves and claims equity that was never properly documented.

These disputes are expensive, disruptive, and often avoidable with clear, current employment agreements.

The businesses I work with understand that time spent now updating employment agreements is an investment in avoiding problems later. They're not perfect—no agreement prevents every dispute—but they dramatically reduce your risk and provide clear frameworks when issues do arise.

Let's Talk About Your Specific Situation

Employment law isn't one-size-fits-all. Your business has unique needs, growth trajectories, and challenges that require tailored solutions.

I'd be happy to review your current employment agreements and discuss whether they're positioned to support your 2026 growth plans. We can identify gaps, discuss strategic priorities, and create agreements that work for your specific business model and industry.

This is exactly the kind of proactive planning that prevents expensive problems later—and it's the approach that helps growing businesses scale with confidence.

Let's schedule a brief call to discuss how current employment agreements can support your business objectives while protecting what you've built.

Adam Witkov is a business attorney and litigator at Michael Best, serving as outside general counsel to growing Wisconsin businesses. He helps clients make intentional, informed decisions about employment law, contracts, and business disputes. His litigation experience provides unique insight into creating employment agreements that work both in daily operations and when relationships don't work out.