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

I am quitting my job this Friday and found out that I have to repay tuition assistance that I received dating back to ONE year. The amount is approximately $4k. The policy states the following regarding payback:

"If an employee voluntarily (as determined by[Company Name]) leaves the company within one year of receiving tuition and/or fee reimbursement, he or she must refund all tuition and fee reimbursements that were made by [Company Name] in the twelve-month period prior to the last day of employment. The employee must agree to this, and to withholding of/deductions from pay, in writing as part of the Course Approval & Tuition Reimbursement Form in order to be eligible to participate in the EDEP. For the purposes of this program, terminations for cause, as deemed so by the company, are defined as voluntary."

I explained to my HR representative that although I do not know what defines "voluntary", I find my situation debatable. The reasons for quitting are due to my spouse relocating to another state for employment. I continued to work with my present company until the primary residence was sold. With no place to live, I need to join my wife and child. I explained that I have child support obligations from a former marriage and that it is not possible to maintain 2 house holds due to the financial strain it was cause not to mention the emotional strain from being apart from my family. Furthermore, I was not able to find suitable employment in the "new" state and have begun to inquire if I qualify for unemployment benefits until something arises.

I have found that under Section 402(b) of the Pennsylvania UC Law that states "...a claimant shall be ineligible for benefits for any week in which his/her unemployment is due to voluntarily leaving work without cause of a necesssitous and compelling nature."

It goes on to say this:

"Following are examples of some common voluntary quit situations.

Spouse Following Spouse

To be eligible, the claimant must show that the reason for the spouse's relocation was beyond the spouse's control, and that such relocation created economic circumstances which could not be overcome or that it was economically impossible to maintain two residences."

My wife and I worked for the same company. She left under good terms and explained valid reasons for leaving which one of them was that her department was making deep cuts and they were not ruling out lay-offs in the coming weeks.

So my question is this...Do I have a case to show that although my leaving the company is voluntary, there are things beyond my control which is forcing me to quit which would make it involuntary?

In an effort to show that I am still committed to the company, I offered a proposition to work remotely as do many of our contractors and a branch office of the department. I stated that the education and company training would be utilized in that capacity. I have a meeting with the junior HR representative to discuss my position on the subject. I have 6 years with the company.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!