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  1. What We Do
  2. Workplace Debt & Labor Exploitation
  3. Non-competes

Non-competes

We are fighting to free workers from employment contracts that trap them at work.

Across the economy, workers labor under employment contracts with fine print that takes away their rights to go work for a competitor, start a rival company, or just quit an unsafe job. As governments crack down on traditional non-compete agreements, employers are using other kinds of abusive contracts that have the same effect—driving workers into debt in a scheme to trap them at work.

What We’re Doing

Corporations’ history of worker exploitation using abusive employment contracts makes big businesses targets for public enforcement, private lawsuits, and congressional oversight. See below to learn more about our work to free workers from non-compete agreements and other abusive employment contracts.

Latest Work


  • Press Releases
    May 10, 2023

    First Major Healthcare Company Commits to Stop Using TRAPs to Keep Nurses From Leaving Jobs

    All Workers Must Be Safe from Abusive TRAPs and Made Whole from Past Use May 10, 2023 | WASHINGTON, D.C. — HCA Healthcare, the largest for-profit healthcare system in the United States, announced last night on NBC Nightly News they will no longer rely on Training Repayment Agreement Provisions (TRAPs) to retain their nurses. As […]

    More


  • Comments
    Apr 21, 2023

    Comments in Response to Proposed Ban on Non-Compete and De Facto Non-Compete Clauses 

    SBPC submits a comment applauding certain proposed changes aimed at expanding access to the PSLF program and outlining additional needed changes.

    More


  • Press Releases
    Jan 5, 2023

    FTC Stands With Workers and Borrowers Through Proposed Blanket Ban On Non-Compete Clauses

    By banning non-competes, FTC would restore key rights to millions of workers and set the stage for protections against employer-driven debt TRAPs.

    More


  • Blogs
    Nov 14, 2022

    The New Non-Compete: The Training Repayment Agreement Provision (TRAP) As A Scheme to Retain Workers Through Debt

    There’s a good chance that, over the past couple of years, you’ve considered quitting your job. One thought that probably crossed your mind was whether you could afford it.

    More


  • Blogs
    Dec 1, 2021

    The Nation’s Top Consumer Watchdog Can End Predatory Practices Trapping Workers in Employer-Driven Debt

    As training repayment agreements increasingly become a more prominent contractual weapon that corporations use to restrict worker mobility, it’s time for watchdogs and policy makers at every level to take action.

    More


  • Blogs
    Aug 4, 2021

    Student Debt In Disguise: How Employers are Using Predatory Debt to Hurt Workers and Hold Back Competition

    New evidence indicates that employers nationwide are increasingly leveraging shadow student debt to trap workers into unfair contracts and substandard working conditions. In particular, a growing number of industries and employers are using bait-and-switch tactics to force workers to take on loans and debt through nefarious “training repayment agreements.”

    More

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