So you couldn't figure out the "linky" thing?
Alright, fine...you so desperately want to be proven wrong, so here you go.
1. Your "linky" led me to this:
"2) Any party to such a contract shall have the right to recover damages for a breach of the contract occurring during its term in an action commmenced during or after its term, but within the applicable period prescribed by law."
2. You post a link to an annonymous poster that claims to have won a case, yet at
www.dallascounty.org you will not find this case.
3. The answer to the question "do they" is "can they?" Because if they can, it does not matter if they have or have not. Your case stands alone and if you have signed the contract and breached it, then you are liable for the prearranged settlement that you agreed to in the contract unless you can renegotiate the terms.
You need to understand something about contract laws. A "training contract" is a vehicle used by employers to protect themselves. In the contract, they agree to train you on a specific aircraft (an asset you retain and can not be returned) while you agree to remain employed until such time as you are released or a specified date has passed. So the contract is for the employee to provide services in exchange for compensation (including wages, training, health insurance, etc.) Should the employee breach the contract through employment termination, the employee can be required to repay the company a certain portion of the contract as compensation. Generally, the breach terms are agreed to in the initial contract. I.e. "The employee shall pay $xxxx.xx"
Most employers, like FlexJet, prorate the cost as to be more fair to the employee. They are under no legal obligation to do so.
A better example would be construction. If a person hires a contractor to build a house, that contractor is obligated to finish the work (just like a pilot is obligated under a training contract). Should the construction contractor not complete the work, the person that hired the contractor has a legal right to regain all of the money given to the contractor. Why? Because the contractor did not complete the contract the contractor is not entitled to any of the compensation.
Generally, you won't see that because the contractor will almost always have a clause in the contract that allows them to keep money for the materials and labor used on a partially completed home.
The point is, claiming a training contract is not legal is complete fantasy. Training contracts, in principle, are 100% legal. A training contract may contain provisions that are against federal, state or local law, in which case that contract would be void. However, I seriously doubt that FlexJet did not research all of the applicable laws when they composed their training contract.
Xdriver
