‘Free’ Job Training Carries Risk of Wall Street-Style Clawbacks

BreAnn Scally is a pet lover, the kind who wishes she could take home every stray she passes on the street. So she was intrigued last year when she discovered that PetSmart, the pet-supply chain, offered what it advertises on its website as “FREE paid” grooming training. She hopes to open her own cage-free animal shelter one day, and she figured she should get comfortable with a pair of clippers. That way, she wouldn’t have to pay someone when she brought home an errant pooch in need of styling. “I could just do it myself,” she says.

Scally, who ...