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I can see them making you pay back relocation costs and a signing bonus, but paying back a salary, if it specifically says that in a contract, sounds illegal or at least bizarre.
First of all, the company can't make you do anything, that's for the courts to decide.
Secondly, (I AM NOT A LAWYER) this would appear to be a civil matter in which case you wouldn't be made to pay 3 weeks worth of salary, but rather, pay the amount of economic damages your employer incurred as a result of your breach of contract.
You have to do it if it's in an agreement you sign. However, any employer that requires a former employee to pay back their salary/relocation costs is cheap and not a quality company to work for.
How is it cheap to spend 20k to relocate someone then have them quit after 3 months and want the 20k back?
If you don't want the money back I'd question your business model and your willingness to throw away cash.
They can't retroactively decrease your pay. If your salary was $2k a month and you quit after two months, making you pay back $1500 would certainly reduce your monthly pay for that second month you worked. Also, a contract can't obligate you to something that is illegal. I'm not sure how they'd go about recovering three weeks' pay from you. It's too much to simply withhold the final paycheck (which, again, they can't legally do), and too little to fool with a lawsuit.
It would be different if they were making you pay back a signing bonus or relocation expenses, since those are not part of your salary and are not subject to the same rules.
I doubt it. No matter what you signed you can't be made to pay back wages/salary earned for work. If it is a bonus of some kind then yes. Wages/salary no. Unless it is a 1099 position for completion of a set project that they prepaid you for.
You have to do it if it's in an agreement you sign. However, any employer that requires a former employee to pay back their salary/relocation costs is cheap and not a quality company to work for.
Including a clause about relocation costs is standard and is smart business. Paying relocation fees is an investment in someone. Why should a company foot the bill for a person to move when that was their only goal and they never intended on staying with the company long term? You just know some people would do that if they could.
If you signed it then probably. I know my job has a clause that I pay back relocation fees at 100% if I quit within a year or am fired for cause.
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Originally Posted by Hivemind31
If the contract says it, then yes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by veuvegirl
Agreed, you signed the contract, be prepared to pay.
I'm not so sure about that. Barring something like relocation, signing bonus, or tuition reimbursement, this really doesn't pass the smell test. I can put anything I want in a contract, but that doesn't make it enforceable.
Pay back a benefit - ok
Pay back salary - probably not legal
Consult an attorney, but also remember that people can put anything in a contract - doesn't necessarily make it legal or enforceable. Yes, even if you agree to it. It has to be legal first, just tossing it in there, doesn't make it enforceable.
Agreed you can put in the contract that if you quit within one year you must go to Mexico and sell a kidney on the black market and give the proceeds to the company. Even if signed that contract is not enforcible. Neither are most non-competes. Employees are free to quit in the USA and cannot have recruitment costs, most training costs or past wages deducted from their final paycheck or that company will be painfully retrained by the DOL or courts.
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