• New York enacted amendments to the Trapped at Work Act that delay its effective date to December 19, 2026.
• The law’s central prohibition is unchanged in purpose but sharpened in phrasing; Employers may not require, as a condition of employment, that an employee or applicant execute an employment promissory note.
• The statute defines such a note as any instrument, agreement, or contract provision that requires an employee to pay the employer (or its agent) a sum of money if the employment relationship with a specific employer terminates before a stated period.
• The law declares these conditions unconscionable, against public policy, and unenforceable, and it makes clear that if a prohibited term appears inside a broader agreement, the rest of the agreement can stand.

On February 13, 2026, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation enacting the chapter amendments, Assembly Bill A9452, to the “Trapped at Work Act” (Article 37, N.Y. Lab. Law §§ 1050–55), which was signed into law on December 19, 2025. While the amendments sharpen aspects of the Trapped at Work Act, it continues to prohibit employers from requiring, as a condition of employment, that an employee or applicant execute an employment promissory note.

At the same time, the amendments make it clearer that the Trapped at Work Act allows for certain non-educational incentives such as sign-on bonuses and relocation assistance, as well as certain educational reimbursements tied to transferable credentials. The...

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