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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
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    2

    Exclamation How to Challenge an Agreement to Repay a Relocation Stipend if You Resign

    My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: Illinois

    I received a moving stipend for my job to relocate from out of state. AFTER I relocated and started my new job with this employer, I was coerced to sign an agreement that requires me to pay my moving stipend in full if I leave before completing 12 months. I did not agree to these terms before I accept the job offer. I have worked 11 months and am going to leave.

    The agreement also has language that is not legal (I think) in the state of Illinois such as threatening to withhold wages and reimbursements that they owe me. Also, the employer did not pay me all of the funds of the relocation that I had originally agreed to (they only paid me a portion). Finally, the employer also changed my job title shortly after I started working for them (within a couple of days).

    Legally, I think I am in the clear to not pay them back. I agreed to work in a certain position, for a certain stipend, and no additional strings. They breeched my original agreements and forced me (by nature of asking me to sign the contract after I had moved) to agree to terms that put me in a sever disadvantage.

    If I don't pay them back, do I have a reasonable case against them?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    24,521

    Default Re: Relocation Stipend

    When you showed all the associated documentation to an attorney in Illinois, what did he say?

    FYI, in the absence of a legally binding and enforceable contract that expressly says that your job title (or your job duties) cannot be changed, the employer can change your job title (or your job duties) every ten minutes if he wants to.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: How to Challenge an Agreement to Repay a Relocation Stipend if You Resign

    Quote Quoting Nodoubt99
    View Post
    AFTER I relocated and started my new job with this employer, I was coerced to sign an agreement that requires me to pay my moving stipend in full if I leave before completing 12 months.
    If you had already received the money without any such condition attached, or had incurred the moving expenses without any condition and were then asked to sign a contract with reimbursement terms in order to obtain the promised funds, the timing would certainly call into question whether the agreement was enforceable.
    Quote Quoting Nodoubt99
    I have worked 11 months and am going to leave.
    You could also hang on for a month and render the issue moot.
    Quote Quoting Nodoubt99
    The agreement also has language that is not legal (I think) in the state of Illinois such as threatening to withhold wages and reimbursements that they owe me.
    As cbg implies, if you want the contract interpreted you will need to show it to a lawyer. Nobody can interpret a contract that they have not read.
    Quote Quoting Nodoubt99
    Also, the employer did not pay me all of the funds of the relocation that I had originally agreed to (they only paid me a portion).
    I would be hard pressed to find a theory under which an employer could require you to "repay" funds that you did not receive.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Posts
    2

    Default Re: How to Challenge an Agreement to Repay a Relocation Stipend if You Resign

    Thank you all for your quick replies!

    Just to clarify the following statement
    Also, the employer did not pay me all of the funds of the relocation that I had originally agreed to (they only paid me a portion).
    They are not asking me to "repay" funds that I did not receive. What I am trying to say is that the original offer I accepted before moving was for a certain relocation amount and they refused to disburse that entire amount. I am just trying to expand upon the point that the offer I agreed to before moving is not the same as what I received.

    Unfortunately, I cannot wait another month to render the issue moot.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Posts
    16,474

    Default Re: How to Challenge an Agreement to Repay a Relocation Stipend if You Resign

    Quote Quoting Nodoubt99
    View Post
    Thank you all for your quick replies!

    Just to clarify the following statement


    They are not asking me to "repay" funds that I did not receive. What I am trying to say is that the original offer I accepted before moving was for a certain relocation amount and they refused to disburse that entire amount. I am just trying to expand upon the point that the offer I agreed to before moving is not the same as what I received.

    Unfortunately, I cannot wait another month to render the issue moot.
    Then you are going to have to run it by a local attorney who can actually read the contract.

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