johnboy2
Sep 23, 2011, 12:14 AM
After 26 years with company A, my father was asked to relocate and they would pay for him to relocate or he could take a severance allowance instead. This was due to a buy-out/merger with company B.
My father signed a letter accepting the offer and was handed a brochure about the relocation policy. There was a paragraph about a repayment agreement that simply said-?signed at the time the offer was accepted? And ?first year ? 100% and 2nd year -50%. That?s all it said and there was no other document and nothing else to sign.
My father asked what it meant and was told that if he quit before two years he would have to pay back what they spent to get him relocated.
The company wanted him to start immediately so put him up in an expensive apartment and left my mother behind to sell their house with the help of their real estate person.
He has now been working at company B for about one and a half months and he receives a letter that said ?pursuant to the original offer of employment -sign and return this repayment agreement.
My father will not sign this document because it says he has to pay them back even if he is fired for cause and if they wanted him out, they could find an excuse to fire him and he would have to pay back the money. Remember that he was only told verbally that it meant if he quit. The form also states that by signing that he is agreeing to not file in action against the company regarding the relocation pay back.
My question is this ? Can they fire him for not signing after he?s already there, and if so will he have to pay back everything they have already spent and can they refuse to give him the severance pay they originally offered? Can they keep him there and not pay anymore which would mean my mother couldn?t move with him unless they paid for it themselves? (which they can?t afford)
My father signed a letter accepting the offer and was handed a brochure about the relocation policy. There was a paragraph about a repayment agreement that simply said-?signed at the time the offer was accepted? And ?first year ? 100% and 2nd year -50%. That?s all it said and there was no other document and nothing else to sign.
My father asked what it meant and was told that if he quit before two years he would have to pay back what they spent to get him relocated.
The company wanted him to start immediately so put him up in an expensive apartment and left my mother behind to sell their house with the help of their real estate person.
He has now been working at company B for about one and a half months and he receives a letter that said ?pursuant to the original offer of employment -sign and return this repayment agreement.
My father will not sign this document because it says he has to pay them back even if he is fired for cause and if they wanted him out, they could find an excuse to fire him and he would have to pay back the money. Remember that he was only told verbally that it meant if he quit. The form also states that by signing that he is agreeing to not file in action against the company regarding the relocation pay back.
My question is this ? Can they fire him for not signing after he?s already there, and if so will he have to pay back everything they have already spent and can they refuse to give him the severance pay they originally offered? Can they keep him there and not pay anymore which would mean my mother couldn?t move with him unless they paid for it themselves? (which they can?t afford)