PA Corporations Trapping Workers In Form Of 'Indentured Servitude': Officials

HARRISBURG, PA — Officials and advocates are sounding the alarm in Pennsylvania on a manipulative and pernicious employment practice that targets lower income workers and effectively traps them in a form of indentured servtitude for years. Legislation will soon be introduced to put an end to the schemes.

State leaders call it TRAPs, an acronym for training repayment agreement provisions. It's basically conditional, contractual employment, which includes "free" training to do a low-paying job.

Companies then claim that these basic skills represent an enormous investment, and when an employee tries to leave the low-paying job before the contract is over, they sue them in court.

"These increasingly pervasive TRAPs are often more coercive than career-boosting," State Reps. Tarik Khan, Donna Bullock, Ronni Green, and Sara Innamorato wrote in a letter urging action on the issue Friday morning. "TRAPs leave employees stuck, often in multi-year contracts, unable to seek new opportunities outside their current job for fear of financial ruin."

Wired magazine called it "a modern twist on indentured servitude."

The new bill, the Protect Workers from Training Provision Agreement Provisions Act, would both ban TRAPs as well as mandate investigations into companies that use them. It would ensure "that companies retain employers because they offer a quality workplace, not because their workers cannot afford to escape," lawmakers said.

Democratic State Reps. Tarik Khan (D-Philadelphia), Sara Innamorato (D-Allegheny County), Donna Bullock (D-Philadelphia), and Roni Green (D-Philadelphia) have all signed on to co-sponsor the legislation.

In their letter, lawmakers cited an example of a PetSmart employee named BreAnn Scally who signed a contract with PetSmart to be a pet groomer for two years. When she tried to leave the low-paying job, the company took her to court for a whopping $5,000 which they claimed she owed them for grooming training.

However, it's not only lower income workers who suffer. Up to one in 10 Americans is currently trapped in a TRAP, including nurses and healthcare workers. A report issued by the American Economic Liberties Project cited related abusive practices in Pennsylvania by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau is investigating similar debt-driven schemes, and states like New Jersey, California, Colorado are among those considering laws to protect employees from TRAPs.