Connecticut's stay-or-pay law
C.G.S. § 31-51r, as amended by Public Act 26-12. It applies to every employer, for notes signed on or after October 1, 2026 (employers with 26 or more employees since 1985).
Law in force All employers from October 1, 2026.
Connecticut has banned "employment promissory notes" since 1985, one of the oldest stay-or-pay laws in the country, but only for employers with 26 or more employees. Public Act 26-12, approved on May 11, 2026, removed that limit from October 1, 2026, so every employer in the state is now covered.
The law names training directly: a note requiring you to repay "training previously provided" if you leave before a set date is void.
What it means for each kind of repayment
For every employer, for notes signed on or after October 1, 2026 (employers with 26 or more employees since 1985):
Training costs
Void
A sign-on bonus
Not settled
- The law still lets an employer recover "sums advanced" to you. Whether a sign-on bonus or relocation payment counts as a sum advanced has not been settled by a court.
Relocation money
Not settled
- The law still lets an employer recover "sums advanced" to you. Whether a sign-on bonus or relocation payment counts as a sum advanced has not been settled by a court.
Tuition or a course you chose
Not settled
- The law has no exception for tuition, so a note requiring you to repay it if you leave looks void. No court has ruled on tuition under the 2026 wording.
A fee or penalty for leaving
Void
What the law leaves out
- Repaying sums the employer advanced to you.
- Paying for property the employer sold or leased to you.
- Sabbatical terms for teachers and other education staff.
- Programs agreed with a union.
If your contract breaks it
- A note that breaks the law is void, and the rest of your contract still stands.
- The law sets no fines and no right to damages: you use it as your answer if your employer asks you to pay, or sues.
Where to complain: Connecticut Department of Labor, Wage and Workplace Standards.
This is general information, not legal advice. For your own contract, a lawyer or your state's labor department can tell you where you stand.
Get one email when Connecticut's law changes
Pick your state. The day a law there passes, starts or changes, we write once with what it means for your contract.
Sources
- Public Act 26-12 (Substitute House Bill 5003), Connecticut General Assembly, May 11, 2026.
- C.G.S. § 31-51r, employment promissory notes, Connecticut General Assembly, read November 8, 2026.
- Employment promissory note ban expands to all employers, CBIA, July 22, 2026.