'I feel like a criminal for quitting': nurses in the US fight 'stay or pay' agreements

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

‘I feel like a criminal for quitting’: nurses in the US fight ‘stay or pay’ agreements

Filipino nurses for Ohio-based company say they have been forced to pay thousands in fees after signing training contracts

Michael Sainato
@msainat1
Fri 29 Dec 2023 17.00 GMT
Last modified on Fri 29 Dec 2023 17.03 GMT

Filipino nurses are calling for the US’s top labor watchdog to review controversial “stay or pay” training repayment agreement provisions that have left them facing lawsuits and thousands of dollars in fees after they quit their jobs.

Training repayment agreement provisions (Trap) are contracts employers require workers to sign before beginning a job and stipulate that if a worker leaves the job before a specified time, they owe substantial fees.

Nurses who worked for the Ohio-based CommuniCare Family of Companies, one of the largest providers of post-acute care in the US, say they have been subjected to buyout fees of thousands of dollars when they resign and have been sued by their former employer.

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Ramos explained when she first started working, the high number of patients she was tasked to take care of every day posed significant safety issues and risks to her medical license.

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Read more: https://archive.is/JckSM

Original Guardian link (registration required): https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/29/nurse-contract-fees-stay-or-pay-communicare