The Arizona Attorney General has filed suit against the City of Tolleson, challenging a policy that requires firefighters to repay $15,000 in training costs if they leave the department within three years of being hired. The suit alleges that the repayment requirement is an unlawful penalty that effectively prevents firefighters from leaving for better-paying jobs.

Attorney General Kristin Mayes filed the suit in Maricopa County Superior Court on October 8, 2026, seeking to invalidate the city’s training repayment agreement, recover money withheld from departing firefighters, and prohibit the city from enforcing similar agreements in the future.

According to the complaint, Tolleson requires newly hired firefighters to attend a 13-week training program conducted by the Glendale Fire Academy. As a condition of employment, recruits must sign what the complaint refers to as a Training Repayment Agreement Provision, or TRAP, obligating them to repay $15,000 if they leave the department within three years.

The Attorney General contends that the $15,000 figure bears little relationship to the city’s actual training expenses. According to the complaint, Glendale charges participating departments no more than $4,500 per recruit, with additional credits available when departments provide training officers to assist with instruction. The repayment obligation does not decrease based on how long a firefighter remains employed.

The lawsuit centers in part on the experience of Firefighter Sean Krienke, who was hired by Tolleson in September 2023. Krienke subsequently learned that other Phoenix-area fire departments paid substantially higher wages.

The complaint alleges that Fire Chief Michael Young informed department members in 2024 that the city would no longer enforce the repayment agreements. According to the suit, Chief Young explained that city officials did not want firefighters to feel compelled to remain employed by Tolleson and that those wishing to leave should be free to do so.

Despite those assurances, when Krienke resigned on August 1, 2025, to accept a position with the Goodyear Fire Department, Tolleson withheld $2,473.15 from his final paycheck and sent him an invoice demanding an additional $8,776.85.

The Attorney General contends that the repayment requirement operates as an unlawful noncompete agreement by imposing a substantial financial penalty on firefighters who exercise their right to leave their employment. The complaint alleges that the city is using the agreements to retain firefighters despite paying substantially less than neighboring departments.

The suit also cites an Arizona law enacted in 2023 governing training reimbursement for police officers. Under that law, when an officer transfers between agencies, the new employer may be required to reimburse the former employer for training expenses on a declining schedule. The law prohibits placing that repayment obligation on the individual officer.

Although the statute applies to peace officers rather than firefighters, the Attorney General argues that it reflects Arizona’s public policy against requiring individual public-safety employees to personally repay their training expenses.

The complaint further alleges that Tolleson violated Arizona’s wage payment laws by withholding money from firefighters’ final paychecks to satisfy the repayment agreements. The Attorney General maintains that the agreements are unenforceable and therefore cannot provide a lawful basis for withholding earned wages.

The lawsuit seeks a declaration that the agreements are void, an injunction prohibiting their enforcement, and restitution for current and former firefighters who had wages withheld or made payments under the agreements. The state is also seeking treble damages under Arizona’s wage payment law, which permits recovery of three times the amount of wages unlawfully withheld.

The Attorney General’s Office also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction seeking to immediately suspend enforcement of the agreements while the lawsuit proceeds.

Rhode Island adopted a sensible alternative in 2025 with the enactment of R.I. Gen. Laws § 45-2-70. Rather than requiring departing firefighters to personally reimburse their employers for training expenses, the law requires the department hiring the firefighter to reimburse the original employer for documented training and equipment costs. Reimbursement is limited to transfers occurring within three years of completing training, with the amount declining from 100% during the first year to 75% during the second year and 50% during the third year. The law applies to firefighters, police officers, and emergency medical personnel. This approach allows departments to recover their investment in training without imposing financial penalties on employees who seek employment elsewhere.