Iowa "Right to Work" question

[shimmy]

I live in Iowa and I know we have a "Right to Work" law, I was wondering if this law covers this scenario...

I am filing for "Tuition Reimbursement" for job related courses, but I have heard through the "grape vine" that I will be forced to sign an "employment contract" locking me into x number of years of employment and it forces me to repay the tuition if I break this contract.

Can I be held to this contract, or can I quit anytime?

Thanks!!

 

[JETX]

Obviously, the answers to your questions will be contingent on the provisions of any offered contract. And since we have no way to review same, we can't determine its validity.

Your options as I see them IF a contract is required:
1) Don't sign it and pay your own tuition.
2) Sign it and comply with any employment duration requirements and obtain company reimbursement.
3) Sign it and breach the agreement and be liable for any claims for recovery of tuition reimbursed.

One thing to consider... if an agreement is offered, try to make it bilateral... meaning that if they terminate you FOR ANY REASON, you are not required to reimburse them. For example, if the agreement is just a simple "you leave, you owe" what happens if you get laid off or terminated?? You do NOT want to be responsible for reimbursement in ALL cases.

 

[shimmy]

Thanks for the info....

The reason I ask is simply that the company I am working for is having financial problems, and if I decided to bail and find a more stable company, I wanted to make sure I could get out of any kind of agreement. A supervisor had told me that in Iowa, an employee could not be held to the agreement if they were changing jobs to better themselves (Right to Work).

And believe me, I would never sign it without a Layoff/Termination clause in it.

Thanks again

JH