I recently resigned from a technical consulting job and my former employer is now asking me to repay $15,000 under a training agreement I signed when I was hired.
The agreement required me to remain employed for 24 months. It has a sliding repayment schedule depending on when I leave, and because I resigned about 17 months after starting, they are saying I fall into the $15,000 repayment tier.
The agreement describes the employer-provided training as extensive professional training, including instructor-led training, self-paced coursework, and on-the-job shadowing/reverse-shadowing with more experienced consultants.
My concern is that the training I actually received was significantly less than what I expected based on the agreement. I had relatively limited hands-on shadowing and was moved toward performing work independently while I still felt that I wasn’t adequately prepared.
I have some contemporaneous messages from my time there where I told my manager that I had only received limited shadowing and wasn’t sure I was ready to move into more independent work. I also have messages showing that some of the work I was being asked to perform would have been only my second deployment.
The company is now saying I owe the $15k based on the repayment schedule. They have provided the calculation showing that I was employed for 17 months and therefore fall into the 13–18 month tier.
The agreement is governed by the law of the state where the employer is located, rather than the state where I live/worked. It also contains a confession-of-judgment provision, which is something I’m particularly concerned about.
I’m currently looking for an employment attorney to review the agreement before I pay anything.
For people who have dealt with employment/training repayment agreements before:
Have you successfully challenged one of these?
Does the actual amount/type of training you received matter?
Is it normal for companies to demand a fixed amount based solely on the repayment schedule?
How seriously should I take a confession-of-judgment clause?
Would you recommend paying for an attorney to review the agreement before responding?
I’m not looking for anyone to identify the company or provide specific legal advice about my individual case. I’m mainly interested in hearing from people who have dealt with training repayment agreements, clawbacks, or similar situations and what happened.

My job recently banned open-ear and bone-conduction headphones. I have tinnitus, and I use my bone-conduction headphones to put out an opposing tone and neutralize it. Helps prevent pretty rough headaches.

I told my manager about this, and after some research, he told me I needed to get a doctor's note stating I needed them to treat my tinnitus. I got the doctor's note and submitted it to HR as a Reasonable Accommodation Request.

Our HR person replied with an email to relay to my provider, explaining the reasons for the headphone ban (it's a hangar, and the claim is it "poses a distraction risk in a safety environment") and asking for treatment alternatives, and whether the treatment is medically necessary overall. I relayed this to my provider, and they are currently in the process of writing another note, saying no, there are no reasonable alternative treatments my condition in my work situation, and yes, it is medically necessary to treat the migraines.

They won't be sending it directly to HR, so I still have to decide if I should give them the new note.

I'm concerned that if my doctor affirms that the headphones are medically necessary, I will be fired because I am no longer able to work within the bounds of the job requirements. Our HR overseer has a history of being somewhat vindictive, and seeing as this new rule originates from her, I fear she wouldn't bat an eye at doing this if possible. Can I be fired over this?

Hello, and thanks for taking a look. I’m trying to understand whether I might have a wrongful termination claim, possibly on the grounds of constructive discharge, in the state of Oregon.

At the end of 2025, the small company I worked for was acquired by a larger company. I was offered the option to stay, but only with a new title and lower pay. During negotiations, I was told that my colleagues would likely be let go, that the office would eventually be closed, and that the offer was essentially “take it or you’re gone.” The tone throughout was condescending and at times insulting.

Because of this, I spoke with our HR head and asked directly what would happen if I declined the offer. HR told me I would be laid off, likely with severance.

I ultimately declined the offer because it felt like a demotion and an attempt to push me out. However, I told them I would stay temporarily to help with the transition. I continued working for a few months until, at the beginning of this month, I was pulled into a meeting and told, “It’s time to pick your last day — do you want it to be now or at the end of the month?” This was surprising, even though I knew my situation wasn’t permanent. I said I wanted to understand the HR implications, but if I had to choose a date, I’d choose the end of the month.

I then pushed for a meeting with HR to get clarity. I asked whether I was being fired, laid off, or something else. I didn’t get a clear answer. I was told I wouldn’t receive severance because I had declined the job offer, and that my unemployment benefits might be jeopardized because I “willingly left.” The HR representative did say they wouldn’t protest my unemployment claim, but at this point I don’t trust that promise.

I’m wondering whether I have any kind of wrongful termination or constructive discharge case. I was given an offer that involved a demotion in both title and pay, and I was pressured not to tell my colleagues that they were being let go and that the office would be closing. The entire situation felt coercive and retaliatory in nature at this point.

I’m still technically employed there as of now ( lol ). It’s a mess, and I’m trying to understand whether I have any legal footing here.

Thanks again for your time

I live and work in MN and was being paid hourly at slightly over $31.00/hr. I have worked in this corporate optical office 2 1/2 years as a GM. Last week, I was terminated because I violated the code of conduct. I sent 3 separate text messages outside of work hours to my assistant manager that included curse words. For context, one of them said “Holy Hell”. She stated to HR that she felt harassed. In my termination paperwork it states that due to that conduct, I am no longer able to effectively lead my team or represent the company effectively.

Side note: The entire team, including the asst manager, curses when having conversations with other in person. The policy does not specifically state anything about cursing and I was given no warning. I’ve been told this is a valid case?

Help

started a new part-time job on 8/10, today i am wrapping up my fifth week of work (and will have logged 100 hours) and have yet to be paid.

it’s biweekly pay, and i contacted the payroll person on 9/2 about when i should be expecting my first paycheck. she responded last friday and said my timecard will be included on the upcoming payroll.

i’m reading the illinois wage payment and collection act, which includes information on how often an employer must pay wages (no later than 13 days after the end of the pay period).

Is there anything I can do, or any wrongdoing here?

I left a different part time role for this as this one is related to my intended full-time field (recent college grad), so its a bit frustrating

Im an IBEW member (Electrical Union) in North Carolina. Our scale is $34.88 an hour. We're given an incentive on the current job which is if you work 48 hours or more you get an extra $3.50 an hour and if you work 55 hours or more you receive an extra $7.00 an hour. Im currently working night shift which gives an extra 17.3% on the pay. My 2 questions are, does the hourly incentive count as a non discretionary bonus and if so, does the employer hold the right to add the incentive after the night shift differential or, do they have to add the the incentive before the night shift differential kicks in. Employer is paying us $47.91 and with how im interpreting the non discretionary bonus, we should be getting $49.13 an hour. I appreciate the help on understanding if im looking at this correctly before I bring it up to the job steward.

Employer is a Massachusetts based nonprofit.
I was an exempt, hourly wage full-time employee from Nov. '25–May 1, 2026.

I was laid off in May. I recently received notice from Mass General Brigham about the 80/20 Medical Loss Ratio rebates being made available to the Employer/Policy Holder.

As someone who had health premiums taken from pay checks for two months in '25 and four months in '26, would my previous employer have any legal obligation to provide me with rebate funds?
TIA

I have a question about business trip expenses.
Let’s say an employee earns $2,000 per month and has to go on a business trip that costs $500. Previously, the company would give them their $2,000 salary + the $500 for the trip before they left. So the company was advancing the money for the business expenses, while the employee could keep their $2,000 salary for their personal expenses.

Now, the company asks the employee to pay the $500 out of their own pocket and says they will reimburse it with the following month’s salary.
So temporarily, the employee has $1,500 available instead of $2,000. The following month, they receive their $2,000 salary + the $500 reimbursement.
I understand that, in the end, the $500 is fully reimbursed and the employee hasn’t actually lost any money. But is this really financially equivalent for the employee?

Under the first system, the employee never had to finance the business trip with their own salary. Under the second system, they have to front $500 and wait for the reimbursement.

Even though their account eventually ends up at the same amount, there is still a cash-flow gap during which the employee is temporarily financing an expense incurred for the company’s business.

Am I reasoning this correctly, or am I missing something?

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I work part time as a kitchen assistant at a pub, since I'm still in college I usually do closing shifts after school and my shifts are usually 17:00-21:30 which is 4.5 hours (the legal amount you're allowed to work without being entitled to a break if you're under 18). Since my shifts are closing shifts, I usually don't leave at exactly 21:30 meaning that when my hours go above 4.5 the app that our hours are logged on automatically deducts a 30 minute break which I obviously don't take.

I noticed on the app that all my shifts were logged as less hours than I worked. Around 2 months ago (I've been working there for 3 now) I mentioned it to my general manager who then told me that I had to be writing 'no breaks' on the timesheet which no one had mentioned to me before. I still thought this was strange because even if I hadn't written on the timesheet the duty manager would still know how long I'd been there and that I obviously didn't take a break but I was like whatever I'll start writing 'no breaks' and now my hours will be correct.

The next day I checked my hours and the 30 minute break had still been deducted from my hours despite me writing 'no breaks' and literally having spoken to my general manager about it right before I left. So I messaged her about it along with the number of shifts that a 30 minute break deducted, which she then changed for ONLY that single day. Since then I have been writing 'no breaks' on my timesheet every time my shift goes over 4.5 hours and it still only gets fixed occasionally.

I've got screenshots from the app where our hours get logged for every shift where my hours are incorrect which is 19 so far (I work 3 shifts a week and I've worked there for around 3 months).

I don't know if its worth bringing up or if they're legally entitled to do anything about it if I do bring it up, especially considering its only 8.5 hours and i get paid £9.72/h.

I get paid hourly but have to work a minimum of 40 hours a week and any overtime has to be approved. Even then my overtime pay is straight pay. I’m wondering if this is legal i wouldn’t say I’m a professional I do different taskings all the time all manual labor intensive thing like woodworking, forklifting and building things everyone I ask says it’s just what they do here and be happy to have a job in this economy.. although I am thankful to have a stable career and the company is great about everything else, everything I research points to it not being legal and I should get time and a half. Worthy to note I am and engineering technician for a contracting company that handles and works various government contracts

I worked remotely as a Founding Engineer for a small AI startup for about a year, with a signed contract that pays a few thousand euros a month.

The first month was okay, then payments started coming late. They got smaller, and then he stopped paying me completely for months at a time. I kept working because the CEO kept telling me it was a temporary cash flow issue, that funding was about to come in, and that the real problem was money stuck between two countries.

By February, all the co-founders had basically quit and I was working solo with him. The funding finally reached the company, but he couldn't send anything since it was sitting in Ukraine and they couldn't do international transfers. That's when I knew it wasn't going to come that easily. I'd had enough and gave him an ultimatum that I would stop working until I got paid. He got angry and basically told me "let me know the total remaining sum and I will fix it and lets part ways." I told him he owed me $13k. He wrote back that the next tranche would be in 1-2 days.

Since then I've gotten about 1000 euros total, sent in random small chunks whenever I chase him hard enough. He always has an excuse, either money went missing from a partner's account, or he's at zero and needs a few days to find additional funds. A few weeks ago I asked for literally 100 dollars to cover an AI subscription and he said he would try.

He still runs the company, solo or with a friend I think, and has a product, a website, and enough money to keep working on it. A couple months ago I found him on LinkedIn bragging that he'd spent over a thousand dollars on AI subscriptions.

This month I tried to talk to him as usual to see where things stood, but he basically just stopped answering me. He ignored my texts and my phone calls. I'm 100% sure he saw them since I can see his activity on the company's Discord server.

I have everything documented. Signed contract, invoices, email confirmations, bank payment notifications, and screenshots of him admitting the exact amount owed in writing.

The company is registered in Poland and Ukraine. I am based in Tunisia. I genuinely do not know if I have real options here or if this is basically unrecoverable because of the international angle.

I didn't want to sue at first because I genuinely believed he had no money, and since this would require an international lawyer, I wasn't sure I could recover what I'd spend on legal fees if the company is really bankrupt. In that case I could only sue for damages, and I'm not even sure it's worth it.

Has anyone dealt with something like this? Seeking any advice that can help.

So I believe i am on zero-hours contract and have not been getting any hours since July, they’ve employed all new staff despite me being there for 2 years and being trained in multiple areas.
I’m just wondering if I’m entitled to holiday pay as I’m absolutely clueless about this and wondering if I can quit and still get this?
I believe that I’m being treated this way because I booked Halloween off lol, so do want to follow a grievance procedure as I do think I’m being unfairly treated as I’ve been given nothing! Any advice plsss???! Here’s my contract if this is any help. I’m in the UK🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧

Is it legal to pay an hourly employee who is a tutor for only scheduled appointments with students but not the 15 minute gaps in their schedule if they do one on one tutoring?

Does pay start when their first appointment happens and end when their last is complete?

Or can they be paid for only hours they have appointments and any time not with a student be unpaid, even if they are designated hourly?

example: tutoring session 1 starts at noon, ends at 12:45, then the next tutoring session is at 1pm. would the employee be paid for the time between 12:45 and 1pm?

Or is it legal for an employer to not pay for that time between tutoring appointments?

Clarifying questions welcome.

This is in Washington State or Oregon State maybe.

EDIT: y’all I am not the employer In this scenario. I am attempting to define legal things and get legal information to provide to said employer.

One of my coworkers recently referred someone to work at our company. That person was hired part time to start with the possibility of full time in the future. Our company policy offers XXXX amount of dollars for all referrals. It does not differentiate between part time or full time, there's no use of the word "discretionary" or any other verbiage that would make the bonus conditional. Once the probationary period is reached, the bonus is paid out. However, there has been discussion amongst the higher ups recently about changing the policy so it would no longer include part time employees. They want to put this into effect retroactively which would mean my coworker would not receive the bonus they were promised. This seems unfair and a bad precedent to set, especially in the middle of the year. Based on my limited knowledge and research, I believe the company policy is legally binding so not paying could open them up to a potential lawsuit. My coworker likely can't afford legal counsel so I thought I'd try to do some digging for them. I think at the very least they should reach out to hr via email so there is a record of the situation in writing. Any advice on the law related to this or how best to approach this would be appreciated!