The interview went well and you seemingly locked down the job that you want. Now it's time for you to negotiate your job contract.

For certain positions (typically, high-level and executive positions), the employer will enter into an employment agreement with you.

The job contract can cover pretty much everything that touches upon your employment. Because these contracts are binding and set forth your rights, you will want to be careful before signing them. In addition, you should know that you may be able to negotiate certain provisions. Here's a look at five important terms you may want to negotiate:

All employment contracts are not created equal. And if you are not careful about what you put in your boilerplate employment contracts, you may find yourself over-promising, violating the law, and potentially even being sued.

While it may be a good idea to start with a template to get certain standard provisions correct, it is important that you review each individual contract and make it specific for each position.

Some things you should keep in mind when reviewing your employment contracts can include:

Employers who fall under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) are required to maintain certain records regarding the hours worked and wages earned by their employees. Failure to comply with these FLSA recordkeeping requirements could lead to penalties for employers.

For the most part, you may already keep these records as part of your ordinary business practice. These records may be enough to fulfill FLSA recordkeeping requirements, as the government does not mandate a specific form for the records.

The only requirement besides maintaining the information is that the records be accurate, according to the Department of Labor.

More and more new hires are asked to sign an employment contract when they join a company.

Employment agreements can be written contracts, or they can be verbal promises or provisions made in an employee handbook or company policy. Generally, you will want your contract in written form.

Employment contracts are enforceable, and you will want to make sure that everything promised to you at your interview is contained in the contract. In addition, you will want to make sure that there are no surprises.

When reviewing your contract, keep the following three questions in mind:

Calculating how much FMLA leave you have left can be extremely difficult.

While the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) generally provides that eligible employees may receive 12 workweeks of leave during a 12-month period for qualifying reasons, there are still plenty of questions as to just what this means.

Here are some general guidelines.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) does not provide for paid time off. However, there are plenty of other employee protections under the Act.

Generally, the FMLA gives eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of leave during a 12-month period for certain family and medical reasons. Here are the benefits of taking FMLA leave:

If you are looking to take FMLA leave for a medical reason, you will need to know what a serious health condition means.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) does not allow eligible employees to take time off for just any health reason. Instead, your condition, or that of a family member, must be serious enough to warrant protection under the FMLA.

There is perhaps no body of employment law more misunderstood than the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). As a result, an overview of the FMLA, which provides unpaid leave for eligible employees, may be in order.

Covered Employers

Not every employer has to provide FMLA leave. In fact, only private sector employers that employ 50 or more employees generally have to provide such leave.

There are some types of discrimination that may not be so obvious.

For example, there are not that many employers nowadays who engage in overt and obvious forms of discrimination. That's why you won't often see a classified ad that states "only whites need apply."

Still, we all know discrimination exists. Here are the Top 5 types of less obvious forms of employment discrimination that you should watch out for:

You work in a Chicago high-rise and believe that your boss or colleagues are discriminating against you. Can you simply march downstairs to the nearest employment law office and file a lawsuit? The answer is no. Instead, to file a proper claim, you need to follow the steps to file an employment discrimination charge.

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) handles all discrimination charges and you generally must first file your complaint with the agency before bringing a private action.

Here's a look at the steps for filing a charge with the EEOC: