ALBANY — Some employers are requiring new hires making low wages to commit to paying thousands of dollars for their training, which researchers and advocates say can trap workers in jobs in a new twist on indentured servitude.

The practice that employers call training reimbursement agreements has long been used in law, finance and science, and for airline pilots, engineers and other high-paying fields. But it has become more common in retail, food service, trucking and some other fields within the last five years, according to state and national researchers.

These agreements — which opponents refer to as TRAPs, or training repayment agreement provisions — can saddle an employee with debt even if the worker quits or is fired before a set period of months or years.

For employers, the agreements are a way to pay for training and to keep trained employees from quitting and using the skills for a competitor. The agreements also can reduce turnover in an economy with low unemployment rates. The practice gained traction after the wave of resignations during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, which prompted many workers to seek better jobs or drop out of the workforce.

WHAT TO KNOW

• Some employers are requiring new hires making low wages to commit to paying thousands of dollars for their training, which researchers and advocates say traps workers in jobs in a new twist on indentured servitude.
• A bill in New York would outlaw that practice. The bill is active for the current...

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