🚀 go-pugleaf

Before I say anything else, let me emphasize that this is a legal
question and I am not qualified to give legal advice. I'm just
giving my own naive and incompetent opinion in the hope that
it will be useful. I assume no responsibilty for what happens
to you if you take anything I say seriously.

First of all, I think you have to take responsibility for what you 
sign. The time to ask your question was before you signed. On the other
hand, there might conceivably be details of the agreement 
which would render it illegal or nonbinding. 

For example, from what you say, the agreement makes you liable for the
money even if you become unemployed and are therefore unable to work in
medical or health related teaching or research (MOHRTOR).
That seems so unfair that it could hardly stand up in court.

Second, I find it hard to believe that the agreement can be binding
without a time limit for expiration. If the agreement says that
for the rest of your life you must work in MOHRTOR, it might be
unenforceable.

Third, if the agreement does not say how much money you have to
earn from the work you will do in MOHRTOR, then presumably
the agreement would not be violated if you did pro bono work
in MOHRTOR. Similarly, if the agreement doesn't say how many hours
per week you have to spend on this work in MOHRTOR, then presumably
you could do it part time.

Fourth, if the agreement does not say that while you are doing MOHRTOR
you cannot also earn some money from other sources,
then it seems to me that there is no reason why you can't do the
following: get a job doing whatever you think you would like to
do instead of MOHRTOR, but with the proviso that they leave you
a certain amount of free time to spend on pro bono work in
a health clinic, e.g. either as a care giver or as someone who teaches
first aid or AIDS awareness, or in some capacity in a research
facility. In fact, some businesses encourage their employees to
do community service work, so you would be killing n birds with
r stones.

Finally, perhaps a closer look at the agreement would not rule out
other kinds of work for medical research or educational institutions,
such as administrative or fundraising work.

Naively,
Allan Adler
adler@pulsar.cs.wku.edu