[macerico]

I'm not a lawyer, but I did obtain a proper legal education.

As much as I'm not for encouraging someone to go to a sheister and hand over a bunch of FRNs, this might be an exception.

Your (former) employer paid for your education on the agreement that YOU would remain in their employ for 10 years after graduation. In exchange, they would forgive 10% of your debt to them each year.

You have the following issues.

1. Who "breached" this agreement? Based on your side of the story, you did not leave their employment, they chose to terminate you. So, you've not done anything to breach the agreement. They should not be entitled to repayment based on the claim of your breach of contract. If they are claiming so, they may be estopped from such a claim since they ended the relationship, not you.

2. Is there a "contract" for this debt? Contracts that cannot be satisfied within 1 year are requred to be in writing. If you never signed a promisory note, they are out of luck. There should be no "unjust enrichment" since they got what they bargained for and decided they did not want the benefit any longer (your continued employment).

If I understand your facts correctly, you work for a college/university that gave you a free education IF you agreed to stay on 10 more years. It sounds like you didn't sign anything (hence why they are eager for you to get a loan from someone else to pay them what they feel you owe them), and that means they should get nothing.

You need to talk to someone who knows the laws of your state regarding contracts, lending, and the like, and it would help to post up if you signed a contract regarding your agreement to repay any alleged debt to the university and what the terms are. From what you've given, you only had an obligation to stay for 10 years and could be compelled to repay the debt if you didn't do that. In this case, they are choosing to discharge you, and that is their forfeiture of the benefit they paid for. I'd think they have not right to withhold salary owed to you or demand you repay any alleged "debt" since they are the ones terminating the benefit you owed them, not you walking out on them.

Sign nothing. Do not try to find replacement funding for this alleged "debt" until you've talked to a trained and competent person in this matter. I'm suspecting that they are owed nothing and know it to be so, but most people holding illicit claims for "debt" try to get a person to borrow off of someone else so the burden becomes another person's problem.


BTW, since they are terminating you, what is the reason for doing so? I think they owe you that since you have an employment contract (of sorts) where you are to work for them 10 years to "repay" the investment of your master's degree.