Training Repayment Agreement Provisions (TRAPs)

Aug 5, 2023

Employer Debt Traps Violate Workers’ Rights, Federal Regulators Say

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Jul 20, 2023

Federal Enforcement Officials Issue Sharp New Warning to Industry: “Workers Face Risks from Employer-Driven Debt”

Advocates applaud first-of-its-kind CFPB report, warning of risky and unlawful Training Repayment Agreement Provisions (TRAPs).

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Blogs

Jul 18, 2023

With Their Action Against Prehired, the CFPB and Other Several States Took a Huge Step Forward. Now They Should Go Further.

Last week, the CFPB and 11 states took action against Prehired, a sham “tech sales” bootcamp. Next, law enforcement should take action against Ejudicate (operating as “Brief”), the company that tried to help Prehired silence students by locking them out of court and into lopsided, back-room arbitration.

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Press Releases

Jun 14, 2023

Former PetSmart Groomer Caught in Predatory Training Repayment Agreement Provision (TRAP) Denied Access to Justice, Seeks Leave to Appeal District Court Decision Ending Ground-Breaking Class Action

By ordering dispute resolved through arbitration, federal judge says PetSmart can use coercive fine print to avoid accountability for TRAP.

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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 previous Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) reports have highlighted, employers have embraced TRAPs as a way to sidestep…

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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.

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Press Releases

Apr 14, 2023

“Unconscionable” Debt-for-Training Scheme Funnels Low-Wage Tech Workers to Fortune 500 Companies; Groundbreaking Class-Action Lawsuit Seeks to Void Predatory Training Repayment Agreement Provisions

Tech Training Bootcamp Smoothstack Engineered Modern-Day Indentured Servitude, Using TRAPs to Let Public Companies Like Accenture, Verizon, and CapitalOne Exploit IT Workers April 14, 2023 | WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last night, a former employee filed a class-action lawsuit against a tech-training and employee-staffing agency, Smoothstack, Inc. (Smoothstack). This new lawsuit alleges that Smoothstack steals wages from employees and pushes them to sign predatory Training Repayment Agreement Provisions (TRAPs), putting them on the hook…

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Press Releases

Mar 21, 2023

Advocates Commend U.S. Labor Department for Taking Action to Protect Workers from Predatory Employer-Driven Debt

The U.S. Department of Labor filed its first-ever lawsuit against a company for allegedly using a “stay-or-pay” contract that required employees to pay the employer if they leave their job before the end of a contract.

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News Clips

Feb 27, 2023

Can Consumer Law Protect Workers?

There is, however, another legal mechanism to stop harmful and mobility-restricting TRAPs: consumer law. In BreAnn’s case, PetSmart engaged in unfair and deceptive acts and practices (UDAPs)—prohibited by consumer law—by, among other things: advertising the Grooming Academy as “free” when it was not; requiring a repayment amount far exceeding the value of the “training” to workers; and representing that the TRAP debt was collectible when it was not under state law… When firms…

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News Clips

Jan 31, 2023

When This Pilot Quit Her Job, Her Employer Billed Her $20,000

Fredericks filed her lawsuit with the help of Towards Justice, a legal aid group assisting workers, and the Student Borrower Protection Center, a nonprofit watchdog of the student loan industry. Attorney Mike Pierce, the center’s director, said Ameriflight’s repayment agreement is another illustration of employers trying to foist the cost of workforce training onto workers.

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Press Releases

Jan 31, 2023

Major Cargo Airline Company Accused of Illegally Trapping Pilots in Up to $30,000 of Training Debt Amidst Supply Chain Crisis

Coalition of consumer, worker, and anti-monopoly advocates urge DOT to protect aerospace workers from predatory TRAPs.

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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.

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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.

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News Clips

Oct 18, 2022

More U.S. companies charging employees for job training if they quit

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Comments

Sep 9, 2022

Comment to CFPB Regarding Employer-Driven Debt (Docket No. CFPB-2022-0038)

Groups urge CFPB to take action to protect workers and families from TRAPs.

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News Clips

Sep 2, 2022

‘They are looking for other ways to keep workers from leaving their jobs’: Training repayment agreements are the latest corporate battleground in a tight labor market.

The Student Borrower Protection Center, a student loan borrower advocacy organization, estimates that these agreements are now so widespread that major employers in areas of the labor market that employ more than one-third of private sector workers are using them. Consumer advocates worry they put workers at risk of being in debt to their former employers and facing collection action and its repercussions, including wage garnishment and a ding to their credit score.

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News Clips

Aug 22, 2022

PetSmart employees are suing the company claiming staffers are being forced to pay thousands for ‘free’ grooming training

In a class-action lawsuit filed in the Superior Court of the State of California, plaintiff Breann Scally alleges that though PetSmart “promises aspiring groomers free, paid training,” the company is illegally saddling staffers with debt by forcing some to pay back thousands in training costs as part of a repayment stipulation.

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News Clips

Aug 5, 2022

Beware the Contract Clause Loading US Workers With Debt

The exact number of people subject to TRAPs remains unknown, but a new report by the Student Borrower Protection Center, a nonprofit that advocates for borrowers’ rights, estimates that three industries heavily reliant on the agreements, health care, trucking, and retail, employ one third of US workers.

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News Clips

Aug 5, 2022

A PetSmart Dog Groomer Quit Her Job. They Billed Her Thousands Of Dollars For Training.

“But the majority of the ones I’ve been seeing, especially over the past few years, by far have not provided anything close to industry-recognized credentials or training,” said Harris, who co-authored the Student Borrower Protection Center report with Chris Hicks. Companies using them have “tended to be employers that didn’t want to compete on wages or working conditions with their competitors.”

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News Clips

Aug 5, 2022

PetSmart offered free training. But it saddled employees with debt.

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Training Repayment Agreement Provisions (TRAPs)

Employer Debt Traps Violate Workers’ Rights, Federal Regulators Say

Federal Enforcement Officials Issue Sharp New Warning to Industry: “Workers Face Risks from Employer-Driven Debt”

With Their Action Against Prehired, the CFPB and Other Several States Took a Huge Step Forward. Now They Should Go Further.

Former PetSmart Groomer Caught in Predatory Training Repayment Agreement Provision (TRAP) Denied Access to Justice, Seeks Leave to Appeal District Court Decision Ending Ground-Breaking Class Action

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

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

“Unconscionable” Debt-for-Training Scheme Funnels Low-Wage Tech Workers to Fortune 500 Companies; Groundbreaking Class-Action Lawsuit Seeks to Void Predatory Training Repayment Agreement Provisions

Advocates Commend U.S. Labor Department for Taking Action to Protect Workers from Predatory Employer-Driven Debt

Can Consumer Law Protect Workers?

When This Pilot Quit Her Job, Her Employer Billed Her $20,000

Major Cargo Airline Company Accused of Illegally Trapping Pilots in Up to $30,000 of Training Debt Amidst Supply Chain Crisis

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

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

More U.S. companies charging employees for job training if they quit

Comment to CFPB Regarding Employer-Driven Debt (Docket No. CFPB-2022-0038)

‘They are looking for other ways to keep workers from leaving their jobs’: Training repayment agreements are the latest corporate battleground in a tight labor market.

PetSmart employees are suing the company claiming staffers are being forced to pay thousands for ‘free’ grooming training

Beware the Contract Clause Loading US Workers With Debt

A PetSmart Dog Groomer Quit Her Job. They Billed Her Thousands Of Dollars For Training.

PetSmart offered free training. But it saddled employees with debt.

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