Podcast
Littler Lounge: Caught in a TRAP? Navigating the New Laws on Stay-or-Pay Agreements
Few things bring together wage and hour law, noncompetes, consumer protection statutes, and state legislatures quite like a TRAP. In this episode, Nicole LeFave and Claire Deason welcome Rob Pritchard, co-chair of Littler’s Wage and Hour practice group, to break down the growing wave of laws targeting training repayment agreement provisions, or TRAPs, and other "stay-or-pay" arrangements designed to encourage employees to stick around.
From California to New York to Washington state, the conversation explores why these agreements have caught lawmakers' attention, how well-intentioned retention strategies can become compliance challenges, and why employers are discovering that a potential retention tool can look very different depending on the state. One thing is clear: the rules are changing quickly. And when the topic is TRAPs, the last place anyone wants to end up is caught in one.