I've had that in contracts, but have always crossed it out. I suggest you do the same.
No employer I've seen has ever questioned it, they know it'd be illegal for them to actually force you to opt-out your of your rights. If they put it in writing that it was a conditional part of employment they'd be in hot water.
They're just hoping you just sign away your rights "for free" so to speak.
> you can’t just cross out a section of a contract, sign it, and have that be binding. The other party has to know about it (by you telling them) and then agree to those terms.
Yes I think that was implied by the original poster. The company has to counter-sign the modified document, which is why they always get you to sign it first, so they can review before they sign.
Why crossing it out if this is illegal and non-enforceable ? This is raising a flag that could be avoided
> I've had that in contracts, but have always crossed it out. I suggest you do the same.
As of lately, I've seen some web-based signature systems (adobe something something docusign iirc?) and with such systems crossing lines is not an option anymore.