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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    2

    Default Leaving a Tuition Assistance Policy

    Hello, I am close to finishing an MBA program under my employers Tuition Assistance Policy. In the policy it states that if an employee voluntarily leaves the company within 2 years of completion of an MBA program that they will need to pay back the amount that was given. This of course is called a payback-provision in the policy. In the near future I foresee my family moving across state (Ohio) to allow for my wife to go to Dentistry school, so therefore I will need to leave my current employer before the 2 years is up.

    My brother-in-law had a similiar situation and as a part of his negotiations with his new employer they agreed they would pay-off the amount for him. After they looked at his contract they decided that the policy wasnt well written (only a sentence or two) and found that the old company wouldnt have a legal leg to stand on if they simply didnt pay the amount off. So they didnt pay it, and all the old company did was send him a letter saying that he could no longer ever work for them again..

    From how he described his old policy "the payback provision was only one sentence", it is VERY similar to the one I have signed now with my current employer.

    I know my best option is to work my tuition debt in with negotiations with a new perspective employer, I could do this by moving the balance to the new companies tuition reimbursement program and signing on for X amount of years.. Or another idea I have is that my current employeer made the monumental mistake of extensively training me on critical business system, and not training anyone else. So I would imagine as a second option would be to offer 3-4 months of answering any questions my replacement would have on the new system. My tuition balance will be 10,000 which would be much cheaper for the company to forgive than the 20,000-30,000 they will pay to have consultants train the replacement for a week or two. Plus I really like my current employer and dont want to see them drop loads of money to train someone that I could train much better. So I feel I have some leverage in that way. And finally, following what my brother-in-law did I could possibly just not pay the company.

    My question is... do the options that I presented seem logical and probable? And more importantly since my payback-provision in my tuition assistance policy is lacking in scope/definition would this be a way for me to get out of paying back the balance?

    If need be, I can provide the exact statment in the pay-back provision if it will assist!

    Thank you for your time and help, it is greatly appreciated!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Leaving a Tuition Assistance Policy

    If you wish to know if the clause is enforceable, you should have its actual language reviewed by a lawyer in your state. Whether your employer(s) would agree to any type of settlement or transfer of the tuition reimbursement is not really a legal question - that's going to depend upon their policies, and perhaps on how much they like you.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    2

    Default Re: Leaving a Tuition Assistance Policy

    Thank you for your response!

    When the time gets closer for us to move, I will contact an attorney in Ohio! Not to name names, but I'm at a large organization and I'm just very surprised that there isnt any legal vocabulary on the pay-back provision, its a simple sentence.. thats it! In 2005 they had no payback provision, but starting in 2006 that is when the payback provision was added. There is no mention of how they will enforce it, or how long you have to pay it back or anything. Which makes the policy very similar to the one my brother-in-law had and didnt payback.

    Of course, its not the way I want to handle the situation at all, because I really like the company and appreciate all they have done for me. Simply not paying it would be a last ditch effort (if even possible). I would definetly resort to negoitations (to forgive the balance) with the company to provide help or support for my replacement before I would just not pay it. Anyways thank you again for your time and help! I appreciate it.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Posts
    1

    Default Re: Leaving a Tuition Assistance Policy

    I am interested in this answer also. I live in the State of Wisconsin and will not be at my current employer for 2 years from the disbursement dates. Is it legal to take out some of this from my last paycheck and then since there are no payment options what happens if I pay them $10 a month for the next 40 years?

    If Employee voluntarily leaves or is involuntarily terminated for reasons other than job elimination, Employee agrees to repay
    to Employer the full amount of any reimbursement received within one year of the termination date, including tuition for
    courses applied to a graduate degree program. In addition, the employee agrees to repay 50 percent of any reimbursement
    received within two years of the termination date for courses applied to a graduate degree program.
    7. To the extent allowed by applicable law, Employee authorizes payroll deductions of the amount owed Employer under the
    above-stated provisions, should payback be due. To the extent that the payback is not accomplished through payroll
    deductions, Employee shall remit the balance due prior to leaving the organization.
    8. If the Employee does not make full repayment required under this Agreement, and Employer resorts to litigation to obtain
    such repayment, Employee will be liable to Employer for all of Employer’s litigation costs and expenses, including attorneys’
    fees, unless Employer does not prevail in such litigation.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    24,521

    Default Re: Leaving a Tuition Assistance Policy

    The answer is the same as the answer to the poster whose thread you hijacked; show it to an attorney IN YOUR STATE.

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