Paying Back Relocation Expenses - but repayment not included in the offer letter!

[ramsg]

This happened in N. California.

I had an oral agreement for relocation expenses with the employer. The offer letter did not say anything about the repayment if I quit inside of 1year. Once I submitted the expenses bill, I was asked to sign a letter stating that I will payback the amount if I quit in less than 1 year.
I signed because I needed that money!!!

After working for 5 months, during which time I was forced to work for 12 hours a day (8am to 8pm) and also on weekends. I decided to quit ....
[on the side note do I have any recourse to collect overtime]

I was paid all my unused vacation/salary. After a month I got an email asking me for repayment of relocation expenses.

Thanks for replying.

-ramsg

 

[loku]

No consideration

Your rights depend on the agreement in the offer letter. If it promissed you the relocation bonus simply for relocating, then you were entitled to the bonus when you moved. If that was the case, by paying you the bonus, they gave you only what you had coming to you and therefore they gave you no consideration for your agreement and the agreement is void for lack of consideration.

If there was some ambiguity in the offer letter, the case may be different.