Question on a "training contract" legitimacy- Help needed
Bare with me here, this is kinda detailed;
I signed a so called "training agreement" in 2010 for my old employer (an on-demand, pt135 charter company). I worked for them (very happily and devoted) until August of 2014.
The verbiage reads that the contract renews automatically every 12 months, and after training events, IE initial type ratings / recurrents. The company pays for training outright, but then attributes that new training cost to a $$ number in each employees "training account." Each month you remain employee, they deduct 1/12th of the amount owed from that account, until a new training event created additional "debt."
All is good in theory, until someone leaves during during said contract.
Here's my issue.
I left the company in Aug on 2014 for a very comfortable Part 91 job.
6 months before I left, I was sent to initial training on another aircraft ( in theory adding a whole new load of $$$ to my training balance). Here's the kicker. Not only did the one and only aircraft I was newly type rated in get SOLD during my training, but the certificate was removed from the company paperwork and I was not told about the sale until the day I took my type ride. In fact, I was told the sale was deliberately kept from me as to not discourage me during school.
Here I am with a Fresh type rating , with apparently a whole load of financial responsibility (which I didn't have a choice to attend or not). At no point, even until current day do they have that type of aircraft in which I was recent trained, Employees are NOT allowed to fly elsewhere due to duty time restrictions, making any contract flying that new type of airplane impossible.
When I gave my 2 weeks notice, I was told that I'm responsible for every penny in my training acct, comprised of my newly earned, but completely useless type rating, in addition to my hotels, travel expenses, and meals while at training! I was also told that I'm the only party who benefited from training.
I was mandated by my employer to go to training, and then was physically unable to use said training, and now somehow I'm financially responsible for this stuff. It adds up to $13-14K
I have two employees who have left within their contract without paying the "balance" of their training accounts, with no legal action.
Do I owe them anything? And What are the rules with indentured servitude? Does this contract fall within those guidelines?
The whole situation seems messed up, as I was more than loyal and devoted employee for 4 years, and then this bomb is dropped on me when I thought I was doing the right thing. If this airplane was on certificate and I was flying it, I would have never left in the first place.