Ah thanks for that. They got smart. A friend of mine is a Q guy, he got hired without a contract AND got the bonus last year. Guess they changed it yet again. And last year when I got my bonus it was taxed higher but I did get it back on my tax return. So I believe the recruiter is wrong.

Sounds like a couple of things got mixed up in the translation...

You are paid an "expense reimbursement" check of $400/wk for the first month as a new hire. These checks are "tax free". The company files the expense reports, you do nothing. Starting on your 5th wk of training, you are your monthly guarantee (pay period is twice a month) of 75hrs/month at first yr pay. Taxed normally.

The $5000 bonus is paid in 2 installments, one after wk 2 and the other after wk 4. This is taxed. In accordance with federal tax laws, since these checks are so "large" they are taxed at a higher rate which you will get back next yr when you file your taxes.

So first 4 wks of "pay" is not taxed, signing bonus is taxed.

Hope this helps.

I don't know if this is true and I have not heard that this is the way it is, but I would NEVER believe ANYTHING an rjet recruiter told a prospective new hire.

This company likes to justify the terrible way it treats crew members and goes about business by saying "it's legal." It's not illegal to lie to a pilot to get him/her on property.

Not only that, but the HR department is the type of thinly staffed, overworked and underpaid revolving door that the company wishes the pilot ranks to be, and many HR folks just don't know what they are talking about.

Also, if true, this "expense report" bonus scheme sounds like a really "thin" manner of hiding income from the taxman. If the company is doing this and the crew member doesn't handle it properly at tax time, they are putting you at risk.

...but, passing risk and expense onto crew members is what rjet does.

RAH is also saying they will require the signing bonus to be paid back if a new-hire leaves with-in the first year of employment, which along with the aircraft-specific training bond/contract, is a further complication of employment terms. And one thing to consider--is the signing bonus taxable if there are conditions under which pay back may be required?

If by 2 weeks ago you mean at the FAPA Boston job fair, you are confusing apples and oranges, or more directly, AE with RJet.
At AE, if you take the $5,000 you get a 2 year contract. If you don't take the $5K, you owe no time...no contract.
At RJet, the recruiter said that the E170/190s have a $20,000 training contract for 24 months pro-rated. He said they recently dropped the training contract on Q400 and EMBs. They also have a $5K signing bonus paid in 2 installments as already described.
I was at the job fair, stayed the whole time, spoke to RJet inidividually, have my ATP and over 3500 hours already with 4 types, so I kept walking to the next desk. If you heard or believe you heard something different about RJet not having the worst training contract going, you were somewhere else with a different recruiter.....saying something completely different....who's telling the truth. Btw, APC still shows the $20K training contract too, if they are up to date.

When I interviewed with Republic a few weeks ago they said the 170 series has a 2 year contract. However, if you are trained in the 145 or Q and leave within the first year you have to repay the $5,000 "bonus" in FULL. Not just the money you received after taxes.
They also politely informed us that if we did break contract early they have people specifically tasked to make sure they receive the money you owe them.

What if say you get fired vs quitting, do you still have to repay?

Had a guy in my initial class at Trans States a couple of months ago that left Republic after finishing the Q sim and before IOE. He kept the $5000 and hasn't heard a peep from Republic. Threats mean nothing. Its what you have on paper that counts. And depending on where you live, these training contracts are largely uneforceable anyway, although they can trash your credit rating if you don't pay it back. They made indentured servitude illegal a long time ago.

I know a guy who walked out during ground at Republic because he got a better job offer. Just found it funny they had to add that part during our interview.

Why dont you just bank the $5K and then if you dont like the company, just give it back to them.....doesnt seem that difficult.