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‘I feel like a criminal for quitting’: nurses in the US fight ‘stay or pay’ agreements (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 11 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/health@lemmy.world

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

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.

Jeddalyn Ramos, a 30-year-old from the Philippines worked for four months at a CommuniCare-owned short-term and senior rehab facility in Pittsburgh in 2022 and paid $15,555.45 in fees when she quit her job.

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[–] Gigan@lemmy.world 31 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Yeah that should definitely be illegal.

[–] Delphia@lemmy.world 39 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

Suing her for $100,000 AFTER she paid $15,000 is the eyebrow raising part. Did they put her through college? Did she get a Batchelors degree? What kind of training is worth $115000 for an aged care nurse?

[–] Milk_Sheikh@lemm.ee 1 points 11 months ago

If you view her as ‘their’ employee, and not a human being with free will who owns the right to their own labor, then it makes perfect sense. She “owes the company” not just for the cost of her training, but also the company’s lost productivity’ when she left and they had to replace her… it’s modern day slavery.

[+] MindSkipperBro12@lemmy.world -11 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Probably a lot more than you think if I had to guess.

[–] Sarmyth@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

You got downvoted, but you probably are right. I'm sure it's more than any of us assume.

However, that's the cost of doing business. They should instead focus on increasing pay and employee satisfaction to retain their employee investments and increase the value of their training costs.

When the only thing keeping people working for you is fear of an impending bill, they're gonna leave the moment that's not over their heads.

[–] HessiaNerd@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)

According to this article its about $3k for 4 years, call it another thousand for visa fees, hell tack on plane tickets and fees to move, you are still no where near the 100k, you may just scrape the 15k tho.

The quote from the company is really interesting

A spokesperson for CommuniCare said in an email: “Our company has spent over $15m in expenses to bring the nurses to the United States. Many of the nurses bring valuable skills with them to the position and we are investing in the nurses through education and training, so they are valuable contributors to the quality of care that CommuniCare is committed to consistent with our core values. Although many have good intentions, unfortunately some of the nurses have taken advantage of the system to enter the country. After receiving bonuses from other healthcare facilities, they leave without the willingness to provide reimbursement for the expenses that the company paid to bring them to the United States. Our company honored the commitment. They however were under contract and broke it.”

I cant help but think, why not invest in US nurses? Do they want a population they can pressure and exploit? Nah, that cant be it.

[–] cooljacob204@kbin.social 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Job experience is worth a lot.

Not saying what the employer did is correct, fuck abusive companies that treat their employees like cattle, but I can easily see a new nurse getting that kind of value out of their first job.

[–] HessiaNerd@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

Value? As in wages? How is that training? The question is how much the company sunk in to training these nurses. I am legitimately confused about the point you are trying to make.