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costly training & termination
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costly training & termination
Discuss employment-law issues such as family leave, overtime, disabilities law, harassment, immigration and termination.
I work for a small computer company in the state of California. Due to the constant changes in the computer industry, we find it necessary to send employees to some costly trainings and seminars in or
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Forums » Topic Forums » Legal Forum » costly training & termination
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costly training & termination
posted at 6/13/1999 11:27 PM EDT
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Posts: 8
First: 6/13/1999 Last: 11/1/1999 |
I work for a small computer company in the state of California. Due to the constant changes in the computer industry, we find it necessary to send employees to some costly trainings and seminars in order to keep them on top of the latest information.
Several times in the past we have purchased training for an employee, only to have them terminate shortly after completion. What can we do to protect ourselves and our "intellectual property"? Can we request an employee to sign a contract or agreement, stating if they terminate employment within so many days of a training, that they would be responsible to reimburse the company? What would an agreement of this nature do to thier "At Will" status? Help! We need to do something, and I want to make sure it is legal. |
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costly training & termination
posted at 6/15/1999 5:32 PM EDT
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Posts: 38
First: 6/9/1999 Last: 10/26/2004 |
Well, this is a pretty common issue, from a couple of different points of view.
First, under many state wage and hour laws, an employer may be obligated to pay employees for any training which the employer requires them to attend. This clearly means that the employer must pay the employee to attend required training (under almost all state laws and the FLSA) and that the employer sometimes has to pay the costs for the training course. Second, if the training is not "required," some employers seek to require reimbursement of the costs of training if the employee terminates within a certain period of time. How does one go about collecting this debt? Under many state wage and hour laws an employer may NOT withhold money from an employee's paycheck without written authorization and in some state's an employer may not withhold pay from an employee's paycheck even WITH an authorization. Thus, without the authorization, an employer may be required to file a lawsuit against the employee to collect. Once an employer has a favorable judgment, then the employer has got to try to collect the judgment! Third, some of those in my field are strong advocates of alternative dispute resolution procedures (such as binding arbitration) and urge that employers routinely enter into ADR agreements. This is the source of great controversy today, so employers must be careful in how they design an ADR program. However, it can be done and such programs can be successful. So what does this mean. Well, some employers might find it worth their while to enter into employment agreements with their employees. The agreement would specify the term of employment and the circumstances under which the employee or employer could terminate the employment relationship. There is no reason why such agreements could not say either side has the right to terminate the employment relationship at any time, for any reason, and the employment relationship is "at will." The agreement could include provisions requiring severance if the discharge is without cause (that is a benefit), provide that the employee must return all property, provide that the employee reimburse for training and authorize the employer to deduct the costs of training from the severance or final paycheck (check state law to make sure you can do this), and provide that all disputes will be resolved by way of binding arbitration. How does that sound? Let me hear from you! |
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