Kudos to Chipotle ~ offering full tuition coverage options to employees~

mom2collegekids
Tue, 12 Nov 2019 17:53:03 +0000

https://newsroom.chipotle.com/2019-10-15-Chipotle-Debuts-Debt-Free-Degrees-For-All-Employees?utm_content=official

Im wondering…

Did C negotiate a special online rate for their employees?

Since C is doing the unusual by paying upfront (rather than reimbursing after grades submitted), what will they do if an employee fails classes?

I understand that C’s decision to pay upfront is because it believes that too many employees can’t “front” the tuition, it’s still a big incentive for a student to perform well so as to get reimbursed.

Can’t imagine C letting it slide if they pay out $5k for tuition for a semester and the student doesn’t study and gets all F’s.
Since there are tax implications for employer and employee if company-provided tuition benefits exceed a rather modest amount each year (about $5300 for employee), I wonder how that’s being handled. I haven’t looked up the exact amounts but i think if an employee’s tuition benefit is more than about $5300 per calendar year, the employee is taxed on the difference.

Also, I believe there’s a limit as to how much a company can pay “per employee” and avoid tax implications. Vaguely remember the amount, per calendar year, to be around $6k? $8k? (My older son’s Fortune 500 employer will only reimburse up to $8k per calendar year).

What are your thoughts?