• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

tuition reimbursement

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

bury10

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? NY

I work for a company in NY that offers tuition reimbursement. I am going to law school in the fall and wanted to work and go to law school part time. I applied for tuition reimbursement and was denied. The reason i was given is as follows: There are very few functions at ______ for which obtaining a law degree would be considered directly job related to an individual's current function. In most cases, obtaining a law degree would prepare someone for a different career thatn he/she is presently in and would therefore not be considered job related nor reimburseable under _____ tuition refund policy. A law degree is not a requirement of your job function or responsibilities.

I work with lawsuits at my company. People who are in similar positions with the company are being reimbursed currently for a Masters in Legal Studies, which is 10 law classes at the same law school i would be attending, in the same exact classes i would be in. These people's degrees in legal studies is no more relevant than my law degree would be. Its the same law classes!

Basically, they are saying that they will not reimburse because my degree would be a jd and the other people's degree are masters. Can they do this? I know most companies offer a policy where you sign a contract, but there is no offer of this even. Also, i never even requested full tuition reimbursement, but I requested that i should be reimbursed at least 10 classes just as others had been for their master's. Can they continue to deny me?

Thanks for any light that could be shed.
 


Sockeye

Member
My guess is that the company does't have any lawyers on the payroll and deosn't expect to put any on. Yes, they can deny you, this is a benefit outside the wage and hour agreement and can use discression on making the decision.
 

bury10

Junior Member
the company does employ lawyers. It is a large company that has numerous lawyers on the payroll. They are contending that if i get a jd, that i will leave the company. For the people who are being reimbursed for the their master's degree in legal studies, they are contending that they will stay with the company. I don't see how they can say for sure who is going to stay and who will leave. They have reimbursed for law degrees in the past, in fact there is a section in their policy that alludes to law degrees but just says it is rare occasions.

Is there a difference if i was only partially reimbursed, meaning for only a certain amount of classes instead of an entire jd? Technically, i wouldn't be reimbursed for the entire jd and it would be for just as many classes as the masters in legal studies program they do reimburse for. i just don't see how they can pay for 1 and deny the other when they are the same classes.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
If the company has a requirement, and many do, that tuition reimbursement must be tied to your going to school for your CURRENT function, then it doesn't matter how many JD's they have paid for in the past, if a legal degree is not needed for your CURRENT function, they don't have to pay for it.

Tuition reimbursement is a benefit, not a right. As long as they don't discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin and so forth, they are within their rights to decide on what terms they will offer it.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top