sables.guardian
Junior Member
Is this tuition reimbursement policy statement enforceable?
Before I was employed, a verbal agreement was made that the company would pay for $5,000 a year in tuition with no commitments required. They didn’t believe in forcing an employee to work for them a year or more after because it’s a major tax write off for them.
When it came to scheduling my classes about 7 months later, I was made to sign a newly created Tuition Reimbursement Policy. This policy did not exist (nor ever existed) on the employment website, the HR website, or the employee handbook. This was a new document.
This is the only binding aspect of the policy:
""By participating in the company Tuition Reimbursement Policy the employee agrees to stay at company for one year from finishing the last semester that company pays for. If employee fails to stay onboard for 1 year it may result in tuition repayment to company. This can be done through paycheck garnishment.""
I had to sign this for each semester (totaling signed 3 policies under 2 years). I stayed with the company for almost 2 years. They forgave the first policy, and are enforcing the other policies. The policy forgiven was still under their 12 month period which doesn’t follow their own policy. They also don’t state anywhere the conditions an employee "may" have to repay the tuition. I was a good employee, worked many extra hours of unpaid time, helped them bring in a lot of money in contracts.
Once I put my 2 weeks in, they angrily demanded the money and threatened to take it out of my paycheck. I told them no. The company had never sent me a bill despite my requests. I wrote them an initial letter highlighting the promises they made, and how on numerous occasions they told me to consider the tuition apart of my salary package and discussed the letter with them before I left. Once the attorney got involved and said he would go straight to the courts if I didn’t pay, I told the attorney that once I received my outstanding paychecks (which were more than the tuition), we can revisit the subject. They took it to court without trying to mediate. I am currently representing myself.
I was not the only person that had the same verbal agreement, and they are not going after other employees that left before completing their policies. Prior to me, they also had employees that didn’t sign any policies.
How enforceable is the policy based on the statement in the quotations above? I feel like their terms are ambiguous and that I am being discriminated against.
Before I was employed, a verbal agreement was made that the company would pay for $5,000 a year in tuition with no commitments required. They didn’t believe in forcing an employee to work for them a year or more after because it’s a major tax write off for them.
When it came to scheduling my classes about 7 months later, I was made to sign a newly created Tuition Reimbursement Policy. This policy did not exist (nor ever existed) on the employment website, the HR website, or the employee handbook. This was a new document.
This is the only binding aspect of the policy:
""By participating in the company Tuition Reimbursement Policy the employee agrees to stay at company for one year from finishing the last semester that company pays for. If employee fails to stay onboard for 1 year it may result in tuition repayment to company. This can be done through paycheck garnishment.""
I had to sign this for each semester (totaling signed 3 policies under 2 years). I stayed with the company for almost 2 years. They forgave the first policy, and are enforcing the other policies. The policy forgiven was still under their 12 month period which doesn’t follow their own policy. They also don’t state anywhere the conditions an employee "may" have to repay the tuition. I was a good employee, worked many extra hours of unpaid time, helped them bring in a lot of money in contracts.
Once I put my 2 weeks in, they angrily demanded the money and threatened to take it out of my paycheck. I told them no. The company had never sent me a bill despite my requests. I wrote them an initial letter highlighting the promises they made, and how on numerous occasions they told me to consider the tuition apart of my salary package and discussed the letter with them before I left. Once the attorney got involved and said he would go straight to the courts if I didn’t pay, I told the attorney that once I received my outstanding paychecks (which were more than the tuition), we can revisit the subject. They took it to court without trying to mediate. I am currently representing myself.
I was not the only person that had the same verbal agreement, and they are not going after other employees that left before completing their policies. Prior to me, they also had employees that didn’t sign any policies.
How enforceable is the policy based on the statement in the quotations above? I feel like their terms are ambiguous and that I am being discriminated against.
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