Stay-or-pay:
Convening on Workers, TRAPs, and the Economy
December 4-5, 2023
This event was hosted at UC Irvine by SBPC, Governing for Impact, Towards Justice, the NYU Wagner Labor Initiative, and the UC Student Loan Law Initiative (SLLI) and featured affected workers; lawmakers; federal, state, and local enforcement officials; scholars; and advocates. Together, the group examined the risks posed by Training Repayment Agreement Provisions (TRAPs) and other employer-driven debt on workers and the economy.
In tandem, Governing for Impact, Towards Justice, American Economic Liberties Project, and SBPC released a compendium of legal memos and letters outlining how the federal government can curb one driver of such debt: “Stay-or-Pay” contracts. A full copy of the compendium, Stay-or-Pay: Federal Actions to End Modern-Day Indentured Servitude Across the Economy, is available here: https://protectborrowers.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/stay-or-pay-compendium_12-2023_FINAL.pdf
For detailed background on stay-or-pay contracts and short summaries of each report in the compendium, a fact sheet is available here: https://protectborrowers.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/FACT-SHEET_Stay-or-Pay-Contracts.pdf
DAY 1: Monday,
December 4
8:30am-9:45am: REGISTRATION & BREAKFAST
9:45am-10:00am: WELCOME
– Mike Pierce, Student Borrower Protection Center
– Dalié Jiménez, UC Irvine School of Law & Student Loan Law Initiative
10:00am-10:15am: OPENING REMARKS
– California Attorney General Rob Bonta
– Terri Gerstein, NYU Wagner Labor Initiative
10:15am-11:30am: PANEL 1 The Rise of TRAPS
– Ellie Blume, California Attorney General’s Office
– Carmen Comsti, California Nurses Association
– Rachel Dempsey, Towards Justice
– Moderated by Chris Hicks, Student Borrower Protection Center
11:30am-1:00pm: LUNCH
1:00pm-2:15pm: PANEL 2 Applying Consumer Law to Protect Workers
– Seth Frotman, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
– Martha Fulford, Office of the Colorado Attorney General
– David Seligman, Towards Justice
– Persis Yu, Student Borrower Protection Center
– Moderated by Terri Gerstein, NYU Wagner Labor Initiative
2:15pm-2:30pm: BREAK
2:30pm-3:45pm: PANEL 3 Strengthening State Laws to Ban TRAPs
– Winston Berkman-Breen, Student Borrower Protection Center
– Garrett Jensen, California State Assembly
– State Senator Jennifer McEwen, Minnesota
– Assemblymember Phil Steck, New York
– Moderated by Lee Hepner, American Economic Liberties Project
3:45pm-4:00pm: CLOSING REMARKS
David Seligman, Towards Justice
4:30pm-6:30pm: RECEPTION
DAY 2: Tuesday,
December 5
8:15am-9:00am: BREAKFAST
9:00am-9:15am: OPENING REMARKS
– Dean Austen Parrish, UC Irvine School of Law
– Jonathan Harris, Loyola Marymount University Loyola Law School
9:15am-10:30am: PANEL 4 Implementing a Whole-of-Government Approach to Federal Action
– Laura Huizar, U.S. Department of Labor
– Julie Morgan, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
– Jessica Rutter, National Labor Relations Board
– Moderated by Mike Pierce, Student Borrower Protection Center
10:30am-10:40am: BREAK
10:40am-11:55am: PANEL 5 Expanding the Research Landscape
– Daniel Hanley, Open Markets Institute
– Dalié Jiménez, UC Irvine School of Law & Student Loan Law Initiative
– Emma Oppenheim, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
– Marshall Steinbaum, University of Utah & Jain Family Institute
– Moderated by Reed Shaw, Governing for Impact
11:55am-1:00pm: LUNCH
1:00pm-1:45pm: TRAPPED AT WORK A Fireside Chat with Workers
– BreAnn Scally, former PetSmart groomer
– Kate Fredericks, former Ameriflight pilot
– Moderated by Dave Jamieson, HuffPost
1:45pm-1:55pm: BREAK
1:55pm-3:10pm: PANEL 6 Protecting Tech Workers from TRAPs and Predatory Training Programs
– Sparky Abraham, Jubilee Legal
– Julia Barnard, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
– Khandice Lofton, Student Borrower Protection Center
– Josh Schieber, California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation
– Moderated by Jonathan Glater, UC Berkeley School of Law & Student Loan Law Initiative
3:10pm-3:20pm: CLOSING REMARKS
– Persis Yu, Student Borrower Protection Center
*Following the conclusion of the convening, space will be held for a breakout session limited to government attendees.*