Employment Term - Bond

Kevin Shells

Registered Users (C)
How many of us have signed bonds/agreements with our employer binding us to work for the employer for a certain period of time after the green card is approved ?
Please state if your employer is a Fortune 100 company or not.

Thanks.
 
It is illegal to have time based bonds in US

Some company make you sign bonds that you will payback the $$ they have spent on your process at a prorated amount. IF you leave before a specified time
 
Patta, could you give us more background on that please ?

Most companies have such contracts (usually a year), but I agree, I have seldom seen this enforced. Even when they have pursued this legally, the grounds are different. But if it were illegal, why would these companies (some of which are pretty reputed), risk it ?
 
my company

I work for a Fortune 100 company - over $30billion in revenues and 130000 employees....and we are being made to sign time bonds. Do you have any concrete information that shows that this is illegal ?

Thanks,
Kevin.
 
Dont worry - it is illegal to do that

They do it just to scare you - they cannot take you to the court. The only thing they can do is they can tell INS that you worked just to get your GC. If you can show the reason why you left the company to INS, you are fine. However, company never inform INS and/or take you to the court as there is a lot of overhead expenses involved in that. I am a finance pro and I can assure you that unless you have a bad relationship with your employer - they dont do it.
 
This might help

Look up these websites, there gotta be some mention of Employment at will and bonds. Atleast it will point you in the right direction

http://www.eeoc.gov/
www.dol.gov

Also you can check with HR dept or any Employment Lawyer, even Immigration lawyers should know that time based bond or "indentured labor" is illegal

I will keep looking but am having trouble finding time to do it.... if any of you come accross some thing useful..please post
 
Bulls Eye

http://www.hrstore.com/free/free40b.html

In simple language, it means continued employment is at the will of either party. The employee can quit his job at anytime for any reason and the employer cannot stop it. There is no indentured servitude. Conversely, the employer can fire an employee at any time for any good reason, bad reason or no reason at all. This legal precept is based on ancient English common-law, the foundation of our legal system.
 
docs I signed

Fortunately, I did not have to sign any docs when my company started the GC process.....however we have now been bought out / taken over by this huge company which has this policy.

Thanks a lot for your help.

Kevin.
 
I think employer\'s can hold you to the bond

I hope Patta Hara is correct, but I am pretty confident of atleast 2 instances where the same employer made efforts and hand delivered summons to the employees who quit the jobs violating the bond and suing them for unbelievable amounts.Now will this stand in the court or not is to be seen, But in both instances employees rejoined the company to fulfill the bond. However if you have good ties + $$ here in US, You can hire a lawyer and fight it out.

Again the types and nature of bonds might be different with different people. I will tell you one thing if you really want to quit.. take my advice and get fired.. sounds silly but what is that you have to loose.. If you already have GC and have other job in hand , then why to stick with the same old bad a.. folks.
 
Guys a few months/year back there was this case in California

Where an Indian had sued his previous employer and won on the same grounds. I dont have more details or links to this case. But it was all over the news. Maybe someone can post something on that.
 
I agree

Employment is on free will and nobody can force you to work for them. But usually the clause is not regarding employment itself, but that you will reimburse the cost that the company had within that said period, which they state more or less as the time it takes for them to recover the costs.

I myself have been through this on an H1 thing, but I had many other things I could bring up which forced that seedy desi body shopper to back off. But they did file a case and it was accepted by the court (they withdrew it later). Thats why the question. If it was straight illegal, why would they take it to court (assuming it would harm them since they are doing something illegal) and why would the court admit it ?
 
employment term itself

In my case ....it is the term of employment itself....there is no clause for paying back the expenses involved.

Thanks,
Kevin.
 
Well Employers always put it Differently

to avoid being an obvious illegal issue...more so the bond thing is just a deterrent, cos mostly the moment we receive a summon, we cave in because of the legal wrangle and the legal expenses...
I know 2 of my friends in NYC (gora americans though), who got their way out of signed contracts and even won the legal case (though they spent around $2000.00 per person), whereas atleast 5-7 other americans from the same compnay caved in when they were told that they\'ll be taken to court.
Off course keeping good terms with the employer is in our best interest also...I\'d antagonize them only as a lst resort...
Thanks for ur insightful comments friends, special thanks to Patta Hara for taking time out to clarify the matter, even though he\'s past CP now :)
 
Thanks

Thanks to all you guys....especially Patta Hara. My mind is once again at rest. I guess I will try and raise the question of signing this bond after already having worked here for over 2 years and just starting CP, but if the company insists, I will go ahead and sign it.
Hopefully they will not insist.
 
Be Careful Of Bonds

The company can surely ask you to pay the amount of money they have spent on training you.

This is true . I have first hand experience.

They can do it . They can do it . They can do it . They can do it .

Yes they can .

If it was illegal would a big company do it ?

The "BOND" is worded in such a way that says , that the COmpany has spent XX amount , and if the employee leaves before the Company can realize that amount , they can sue you for it.

I know my Company had sent us a note telling us that , an Employee had lost a case against them.

KEEP IN MIND THE KEY IS TRAINING . HAVE YOU BEEN TRAINED RECENTLY WHICH COST THE COMPANY X AMOUNT OF MONEY ?
 
Issue is not money, it is continuation of Employment

Yes, employer has right to recover "Reasonable" monetary damages that it has incurred in processing you for GC and also stretch it to encompass recent Training expenses that it had incurred in anticipation of your "Permanent Employment"

BUT THEY DO NOT HAVE A RIGHT TO HOLD YOU IN THE JOB as INDENTURED EMPLOYEE FOR A SPECIFIC TIME
 
Yep- I agree to that

they can certainly ask for recoving GC or training expenses if it\'s a part of agreement, but in the case I mentioned earlier, even the much touted NON COMPETE agreement was held void, inspite of the fact that employess had signed the non-compete agreement.
 
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