I joined an employer and employer paid me relocation benefits. Relocation benefit said if I quit within a year I have to repay the amount completely and I have to pay 50% I quit between 1year and 2years. When I was hired, I was told that I am hired for not working on a 24x7 job (no pager duty). Last week they changed my job description to a 24x7 job (in other words pager duty). I was also told last friday that due to curve fitting process they are giving a lesser grade. I quit the job and gave reasons because of the grade.
They terminated me after my initial resignation notice. Employer came back and told me that I have to pay back the full amount for the relocation. After that I had a couple of email exchanges explaining that employer changed the job description and they are still insisting on paying back the money.
2. I did work a lot of hours (after hours) and I have submitted timesheet. I am an exempt employee. Do I qualify for the overtime pay? I earned more than 100K in salary. Am I eligible for overtime pay?
3. In the relocation agreement there was a clause for withholding the final pay check. Is this legally enforceable to withhold the payment from the final pay cheque.


I appreciate your response.

I joined an employer and employer paid me relocation benefits. Relocation benefit said if I quit within a year I have to repay the amount completely and I have to pay 50% I quit between 1year and 2years. When I was hired, I was told that I am hired for not working on a 24x7 job (no pager duty). Last week they changed my job description to a 24x7 job (in other words pager duty). I was also told last friday that due to curve fitting process they are giving a lesser grade. I quit the job and gave reasons because of the grade.
They terminated me after my initial resignation notice. Employer came back and told me that I have to pay back the full amount for the relocation. After that I had a couple of email exchanges explaining that employer changed the job description and they are still insisting on paying back the money.
2. I did work a lot of hours (after hours) and I have submitted timesheet. I am an exempt employee. Do I qualify for the overtime pay? I earned more than 100K in salary. Am I eligible for overtime pay?
3. In the relocation agreement there was a clause for withholding the final pay check. Is this legally enforceable to withhold the payment from the final pay cheque.


I appreciate your response.
We can't see the whole written agreement from our screen, but from only what you have said, you quit, no matter what the reason, so they can charge you what they said they would on the contract. I don't understand what the grade thing is about so I can not comment on it. Have you taken it to an attorney to look over it. I think it would be worth the amount of money for a lawyer to just take a look at it, and tell you if you have any options. If the no pager duty, or your hours, were not put on the contract, and it was only verbal, you have no recourse there. Unfortunately, a verbal contract isn't very binding. What kind of work do you do, and what is the grade? Are you in a union? What kind of work do you do? This information may help someone answer your questions. I still say, since we can not see the agreement, that you should have a local attorney, that specializes in work contracts, take a look and see if there are any loop holes, for you and for your work to change thier minds. Good luck!

Regarding overtime: If you are correctly classified as an exempt employee, there are no circumstances where you'd qualify for overtime.

http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_Overtime.htm

I have to agree with turbowray on the issues about your employment contract. It's best to seek a local lawyer and discuss. Based on what you've posted, I would not hold much hope. It sounds that your employer may be well within their rights to request reimbursement of the relocation.

I'm not sure if holding your final pay check is binding even if stated in your employment contract. One of our CA experts should be able to comment on that. Are they "holding" your check and applying it's proceeds against the relocation reimbursement? If this is the case, it may be legal since you probably agreement to same by signing the employment contact. Again I'd recommend consulting with a lawyer on your contract issues.

http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_Paydays.htm

First of all, did the agreement you signed state that you agreed to have the outstanding amount deducted from your pay, or just that you had to reimburse them? It is unlikely that a deduction would hold up, even if you authorized it in writing; California law is pretty strict about deductions from net pay.
http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_Deductions.htm (specifically, question #1 and the second paragraph in the introduction)

Secondly, even if the deduction were legal, they must pay you at least minimum wage for the hours you worked in your final pay period.

I recommend filing a claim with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement for both situations.

One more thing which I did not mention is that I have signed an Arbitration Agreement. It clearly says that I can file within 6 months and company will bear those expenses unique to arbitration. Does it mean that I dont need to pay the arbitration fees? I would appreciate if anyone can comment on the arbitration.

Following is the text of the relocation agreement.

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1. Should my employment wit <Company> terminate for reasons of cause or resignation within two years of my start date, the Miscellaneous Allowance must be repaid according to the following schedule: payment in full if termination occurs within one year; 50% repayment if termination occurs between one and two years. No repayment would be required for termination after two years of employment.

2. I authorize <company> to withold frm any monies due to me at the time of termination necessary to satisfy this obligation, above those sums eempt from attachment under Federal and State laws.

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My question is it legal for them to change the duty from day shift to night shift (on a scheduled basis) which was not mentioned when I was hired. This looks more like a misrepresentation of facts to me while hiring me.

I worked as a computer professional and there is no union.

Regarding the final pay check, they sent me an mail two weeks back and it went to my old address. I got the check and I deposited the check. The check got bounced because they have withholded the money. I am very disappointed by the fact that they have sent the check and did not have a courtesy to mention not to deposit the check.

Thanks for all the good information. Let me know if you need more information.

A bounced paycheck doesn't mean they witheld anything. It means that they didn't have enough in the account to cover the funds. I'd call and ask for a bew check.

If you signed the agreement to stay for 2 years or owe back the money, then unless the contract you signed gives you an "out" if the position changes, you owe the money. The time to negotiate aspects of the contract is before you sign it, not after it is a done deal and you find yourself on the less advantageous end of the bargain. Since you worked there under the circumstances you were orginally promised for at least a year, it is going to be very very difficult to prove detrimental reliance. In other words, it is hard to buy that the employer lured you there under false pretenses and kept you on the shift you desired for a full year with the intention of revoking that at a later time. Business conditions change and your employer may change the terms as needed. When it happens immediately following a relocation it may be a bit suspicious, but more than a year later, that argument just doesn't hold a lot of water.

Unless you have a bona fide contract (not an offer letter, a contract) that says you will work the day shift and no other, yes, you can be put on the night shift.

Hello Elle,
It is not just me they changed the duty. They changed the entire team. When they responded me back they said I did not give them a chance so that they could have put me back in the regular shift. But this was not the case when i discussed with my manager. Business can change and the job description can change but making a person to go from regular duty to off duty is not something I have signed up for. If they do so why they did not mention anything when I joined. I was ok if there is no change in from day shift to night shift.

Anyways I am planning to contact American arbitration association and see if any luck is there for me.
Thanks for all the good information.
I would like to know the following. If I filed for Arbitration what would be the cost of Arbitration.

Not having read your entire arbitration agreement, I can only guess what the cost might be. Contact them and find out.

They probably didn't mention that the shift would change as more than a year ago when you were hired, it wasn't expected.

Hello Elle,
That is correct. If I knew there is a slight possibility I would have not taken up the offer in the first place. Only thing they mentioned is about the job responsibilities which they can change any time. Anyways I was not thrilled about the management decision, I am planning to proceed with the American Arbitration Association. One of the mistakes I did was I did not put a cap on the relocation cost when I signed the agreement. I believe others will take this experience to ensure they include an approximate cost in the relocation agreement. Anyways I have requested them to send some paper works regarding the relocation and I can present it to arbitration association.

In general both parties must agree to the arbitration, but once that is done then usually the cost is equally split by both parties. However, I thought I read that your contract's arbitration clause states that the employer will bear those costs ... correct?

Also, does it state whether or not this is binding arbitration?

Hello,
The agreement says any dispute arise with respect to your employment or the termination of the employment, we both agree that such dispute shall be conclusively resolved by final, binding and confidential arbitration, rather than by a jury court or administrative agency. The company will bear those expenses unique to arbitration.

So, are you filing with the DLSE? I don't believe your blanket authorization for acceleration of the repayment will be enough to satisfy state law.

It sounds like you agreed to go to arbitration before you may file a complaint either at an administrative agency or in the courts. However, it further appears that the employer will pay for the arbitrator therefore you bear no costs unless you were to hire your own attorney.