Founders copy a US offer letter and hope. Wage-and-hour, written contracts, and social-insurance filings are different machines. The US Department of Labor enforces the FLSA on overtime and minimum wage. UAE hiring runs through MOHRE. Iranian hiring runs through the labour ministry and social-security filings. This page is a filing map, not counsel.
United States: wage-and-hour first
If you hire in the US, the FLSA overtime rule is 40 hours in a workweek for non-exempt employees. Misclassifying a non-exempt employee as a salaried founder-friend is how overtime claims start. Keep hours, pay basis, and the exemption theory in one folder.
A job title or equity grant does not establish an exemption. Federal rules are only the floor; state wage, leave, and pay-frequency requirements may add another file, so the workplace state must be recorded before payroll begins.
UAE: the written term is the product
UAE MOHRE expects a written employment relationship with a permitted term type. Offer-letter culture from a US seed company is not a substitute. If the person works in the UAE, the UAE file wins even if the company is Delaware.
The employing entity, permit route, work location, compensation, and termination terms must describe the actual arrangement. A side letter that contradicts the registered contract creates two stories; local counsel should reconcile them before the employee starts.
- US wage file4 count
- UAE contract file3 count
- Iran filing file5 count
- Shared offer letter1 count
U.S. DOL (2026-08). Illustrative artifact counts by jurisdiction file, not a census of required documents or violations.
Iran: filings and social security
Iranian labour relationships generally require a written contract and social-security filings. Copying a California at-will paragraph is not a local contract. Have Iranian counsel stamp the file.
The file should make the real employer, workplace, pay, hours, benefits, and insurance records agree. Calling a full-time supervised worker an independent contractor does not by itself change the underlying relationship; classification needs local review.
Worked case: one engineer, three places
A Delaware C-corp with a Mashhad engineer and a Dubai salesperson needs three files. Paying everyone on a US template creates the exact claim the founder was trying to avoid. Write where the work is performed, then open that jurisdiction’s folder.
If that engineer later relocates and performs the role from Dubai, the old Iran file is not automatically enough. The change in place of work triggers a new review of entity, permit, contract, payroll, and benefits before the move becomes routine.
Not legal advice
Statutes change. This page names the governing desks — DOL, MOHRE, Iran labour ministry — so you know whom to ask. BLS BED establishment tables are labour-market backdrop only; they do not choose the overtime, contract, or filing desk. This page does not replace counsel or a payroll provider in the place of work.
Use the map to assemble questions and records, not to reach a legal conclusion from a checklist. Counsel needs the actual duties, supervision, location, entity, and pay arrangement; a generic policy cannot answer facts it never records.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use one offer letter worldwide?
You can use one narrative. You cannot use one legal file. Attach the local contract.
Does remote work pick the founder’s jurisdiction?
Usually the place of work controls, and sometimes the employee’s residence. Ask counsel; do not assume Delaware.
What is the US overtime number to remember?
40 hours in a workweek for non-exempt employees under the FLSA, before state extras.
Is this legal advice?
No. It is a map of which desk owns the file.
Answers to the questions this topic usually leaves hanging.
How we sourced this
Every statistic in Employment Law Is Three Files, Not One Policy is attributed. Where a number is an estimate rather than a census, the note says so.
- U.S. Department of Labor, FLSAFederal wage-and-hour statute for non-exempt overtime.
- UAE MOHREEmployment contract and permitted term types.
- Iran labour ministryLocal labour and social-security filings.
- BLS BEDLabour-market backdrop only; not a filing rule.
Primary sources used for this edition.
The bottom line
Open the folder for the place the person actually works, then write the contract that folder requires.
If you want the adjacent decisions after Employment Law Is Three Files, Not One Policy, start with Hiring process, Legal structure, HR compliance, International legal.
