Is this legal?

If you signed a contract yeah probably. I am not a lawyer, you should get one though.

>>1676957
State and federal law override any conflicting provisions in the contract. If the $5k is a sign-on bonus, you are supposed to pay it back. If the $5k is a wage, he's not getting that back. In either case I wouldn't pay it back because it's very hard for him to sue you, win the case and recoup the cost. He'd probably threaten to sue with a lot of angry letters and end up letting it go.

>>1677024
>this

I have literally done this 4-5 times. No one ever sues unless its really worth there time. Where I live even if you win you would have to handle the collection yourself by either taking there liabilities/assets or you would send them to collections.

>tldr dont pay

>>1677024
This. Signing bonus is to be paid back. Wage or salary is yours. Sounds like its some shitty company with shitty contracts that you need to take your 5k and never think about again

>>1677024
>>1677045

I was never given a signing on bonus so i think its a wage...

>>1677034

Yeah. At worst they will get a summary judgement in small claims and turn it over to a collections agency to fuck up your credit. Most likely they will just let it wash.

And almost all non-compete clauses aren't worth the paper they're printed on unless you're some sort of god in the industry. Even then, they'll just offer you more to stay.

I've signed 4 non-competes in my employment. And each time I've left to work in my same industry. The courts tend to side on the side of the constitution (in the US) because most true experts have spent a career being specialized at their skill and a non-compete would force them into poverty. The non-compete is usually only chased down in the event of a trade secret being employed, and then they have a case.

A signing bonus usually means nothing. It's an incentive to get you to sign in lieu of a higher starting salary. I've gotten signing bonuses from $2K to $10K at my jobs. It's always understood as an incentive to work for them and get started well off so you aren't starving for money the first few months. The first year you feel rich, but after that you realize you're making less because it's now "just salary".

Employers have very little power today unless it's intellectual property / trade secrets. They can murder you with that stuff, so be careful. And honestly, it's kind of shitty for you to take all the secrets from Apple to your job at Microsoft. It screws your old co-workers the most.

>>1676957
>I know I signed a contract
niiiggguuhhh

>>1676957
You can contact your State Department of Labor if you need some help. They are usually on the side of the worker and have a lot of power over employers.