STATE LEGISLATURES OPPOSED so-called “stay-or-pay” contracts in new laws that gained traction this year. The measures pushed back against employers’ use of contracts that require workers to repay training and other expenses when they leave their jobs.
- “Stay-or-pay” contracts typically require employees to repay employers for training expenses, new-hire bonuses, or other costs if they leave the job within a certain time period. Advocates of the pacts say they can legitimately protect employers’ investment in training new hires by discouraging them from quickly leaving and taking their new skills to a competitor.
- Critics say training repayment agreements — sometimes called ...