New York’s “Trapped at Work Act” Takes Effect: What Employers Need to Know
Seyfarth Synopsis: As we close out 2025, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law an amendment to the New York Labor Law, entitled the New York Trapped at Work Act, which bans “employment promissory notes ” and similar stay‑or‑pay clauses used as a condition of employment. The statute took effect immediately on December 19, 2025. New York’s Trapped at Work Act (the “Act”) prohibits employers from requiring workers or job applicants to sign agreements that obligate repayment if the worker leaves before a stated time period, including provisions characterizing repayment as reimbursement for training . These agreements are now deemed unconscionable, contrary to public policy, and unenforceable. What’s Prohibited Under the Act, employers may not require, as a condition of employment, any “employment promissory note” or agreement that (i) requires payment to the employer if the worker leaves before a specified time, or (ii) labels repayment as reimbursement for emp...