Lawyer anyone?
If anyone ever is told by an employer that they require a training contract, walk away. I wish someone had given me that advise before I signed my life away for my former job. The contract I signed is so absolutely one sided that it leaves the pilot zero protection from the company should things not work out. It basically states you must pay the full amount of training if you quit or are fired before the time limit is up. You also must agree to have your paychecks withheld, that you agree to go to court in the company's hometown and you will have to pay all legal bills for the company should you lose your case. I had the "rose colored glasses" on when I signed this contract. Had I taken a step back and realised how bad it really was, I would have gone to ExpressJet instead.
This contract only benefits the company. The pilots only get screwed by signing it. For example, the schedule change last year. They can force the pilots into whatever they want. The pilot has no recourse. They are forced into the terrible schedule because they cant quit, or they'd owe the company money. The company doesn't care if it kills any semblance of a family life you may have, you work the schedule, or else you owe. They could force you to never have a day off if they wanted, technically they could force you to be on call 24/7 and there is nothing you can do about it because you signed that contract. Another pitfall is that it is also not prorated. So lets say you are a good pilot, always show up on time and fly your ass off for the company for the required time limit. 1 day before your contract is due to expire, they can fire you, take you to court and sue you for the entirety of the contract. Why? Just because the contract says they can.
I knew that I'd have to pay some sort of money to get out of my contract at my company. They have been prorating the contract for other pilots who have left the company early, so I figured they would do the same for me based on the precedence they have started. I found out the hard way that I was WRONG! They refuse to prorate it and informed me they plan on suing for the entire amount of the contract. I tried to reason with them, even offered thousands more than the prorated amount, they refused.
So here I sit, in training for an airline trying to absorb all the information they are throwing at me, and I have impending legal action looming over my head. Try memorizing 10 pages of limitations while also worrying about how your going to defend yourself in court against a lawsuit that you cant afford to defend yourself against. So anyone know any lawyers in the Dallas area that is willing to do a little pro-bono work? Please, send them my way.
For all those aspiring pilots out there that read this: Be careful in your career choices! This industry is filled with landmines and pitfalls that you must be careful to avoid in order to get to your dream job. Watch out for training contracts, there are plenty of good companies out there that will hire you with out one. There are lots of jobs out there, choose wisely.
This contract only benefits the company. The pilots only get screwed by signing it. For example, the schedule change last year. They can force the pilots into whatever they want. The pilot has no recourse. They are forced into the terrible schedule because they cant quit, or they'd owe the company money. The company doesn't care if it kills any semblance of a family life you may have, you work the schedule, or else you owe. They could force you to never have a day off if they wanted, technically they could force you to be on call 24/7 and there is nothing you can do about it because you signed that contract. Another pitfall is that it is also not prorated. So lets say you are a good pilot, always show up on time and fly your ass off for the company for the required time limit. 1 day before your contract is due to expire, they can fire you, take you to court and sue you for the entirety of the contract. Why? Just because the contract says they can.
I knew that I'd have to pay some sort of money to get out of my contract at my company. They have been prorating the contract for other pilots who have left the company early, so I figured they would do the same for me based on the precedence they have started. I found out the hard way that I was WRONG! They refuse to prorate it and informed me they plan on suing for the entire amount of the contract. I tried to reason with them, even offered thousands more than the prorated amount, they refused.
So here I sit, in training for an airline trying to absorb all the information they are throwing at me, and I have impending legal action looming over my head. Try memorizing 10 pages of limitations while also worrying about how your going to defend yourself in court against a lawsuit that you cant afford to defend yourself against. So anyone know any lawyers in the Dallas area that is willing to do a little pro-bono work? Please, send them my way.
For all those aspiring pilots out there that read this: Be careful in your career choices! This industry is filled with landmines and pitfalls that you must be careful to avoid in order to get to your dream job. Watch out for training contracts, there are plenty of good companies out there that will hire you with out one. There are lots of jobs out there, choose wisely.
posted by Windsor at 11:34 AM
6 Comments:
If you're a member of the AOPA Legal Services Plan, call one of the panel lawyers in your area for advice/representation. I've handled at least one of these, in a very similar situation, and my client ended up walking away scot free. There's always some kind of leverage you can use to push back and find an acceptable resolution.
IFR Pilot (lawyer by day)
windsor,
I'm a 2nd year law school student and I wouldn't mind showing your contract to my old 1st year contracts professor (harvard law grad) if you'd like. Let me know, I'm working on my PPL and I don't mind doing this pro bono.
Thanks guys, I'll take any help I can get. Tom, if you leave me some way of getting in contact, I can email a copy of the contract. I have a secondary email at mkerugger6@yahoo
I had an employer (not in aviation) try to enforce an employment contract. I had an attorney come down on them hard and it was settled for $0. I spent less than $400 on the attorney.
I know how you feel. That experience helped me choose an airline that doesn't have an employment/training contract.
I'm sure you'll prevail. They don't want to go to arbitration or court. If they know you won't back down, they probably will with a little encouragement.
Good luck.
Mike
I've heard many times that these contracts often end up unenforceable. Don't let this interfere with your studying! Easy for me to say, I know ...
-Christine
So how did your training contract issue turn out?
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