The practice of having training contracts is a whole other topic than the topic of whether a training contract should be honored / can be enforced. Apparently there are a lot of financially irresponsibly thinking people out there so I'm gonna run the risk of offending some of them to say what needs to be said.

1st: If you read a contract, actually read it! Write spark notes if you must but know what the heck you are signing and EXACTLY what you are agreeing to. Companies have lawyers (....people who WRITE THESE THINGS FOR A LIVING!!!!) writing their contracts so... you might wanna give a run through or two. Heck, if you deem it a prudent investment, hire a lawyer and have him/her read it before you decide. Whatever you do, KNOW WHAT YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR!

2nd: If you don't like it, change the contract to suit your tastes. This may not be easy in a business world if you lack a business sense but if you don't talk to them about it, you'll never know. Remember, a contract is a MUTUAL agreement so you have to propose things that are of BENEFIT to each party. You might have to offer up something else for them (ie. maybe raise the amount you are responsible for in exchange for a "Loss of Medical Claus" (you get out of the contract if you lose your medical / can't be a pilot anymore). Remember, if you are inexperienced / a first time pilot applicant, you do not have much more to offer so you will have to be creative in the ways you go back and forth with your prospective employer and, if you are simply unable to agree with the contract as written and the employer will not budge, well then just like an over-priced car at a dealership, you have to genuinely be willing to WALK AWAY from the deal to protect yourself! The term for this exchange of reasonable contract points / stipulations for the mutual benefit of the parties involved is called "negotiating" and it is how business is done between two reasonable, freely acting individuals/groups.

3rd: If after all of the "step 2" stuff above, you decide the contract is good enough (for whatever reasons you deem satisfactory), if you sign a contract, for heck sack be a man (woman) of your word and honor it. Daily life / an extreme desire to be a pilot is NOT grounds for being coerced or being under duress so don't be a hypocrite (demanding your company provide you with xxx and then welching on your word to honor an agreement YOU agreed to with them). The free market economy is simply the rational dealings between reasonable and responsible individuals and if you wish to participate in the free market (ie. have a private sector job), then you have to accept the consequences of your actions otherwise, you will not succeed in the free market.

If you can't fulfill your contractual obligations RIGHT NOW at this moment due to being fired / whatever reasons, well then you deal with your situation and when you are back on your feet, honor your word and fulfill it. If you have no money, well then you have no money, but if you are simply trying to get out of a contract you agreed to, well then see the above 3 points.

I have signed 3 training contracts and I haven't welched on any of them and I came very close to violating one for hopes of a better job I thought I was going to have. I knew when I signed all of them that if I quit, lost my medical, or got fired, I would still be responsible for the (in this case) pro-rated amount of the contract and, as a responsible contributing member of society, I was more than ready to fulfill my contractual obligations. Same with my student loans, car payments, etc. Just because it is pilot job training doesn't make it an exception to the "Being Responsible" rule. It doesn't matter if the contract is "enforceable" or not, don't be a jerk and be a man (woman) of your word. Your word is all you have. Don't squander it!

Again, I run the risk of offending people with this posting but honestly, I take great pride in being responsible and even though I know 1st time pilot employers do it mainly for their advantage, my disagreement with the practice of using training contracts does NOT give me the moral high ground to welch on my word.

Anyways, to the OP, I do not have much familiarity with which states / circumstances give more force behind a training contract. From my experience, our company didn't really go after pilots who welched on the contract. They used it more as a deterrent to give people pause before they quit 3 weeks out of training vs as a means to actually recover their investment. Our company required an initial contract and another contract at each airplane transition (varying amounts / term lengths). I know of a few people who welched and nothing happened to them (yet) but I don't know of any specific events where the company went after a pilot for the remaining amount. I have read on this forum a bunch of different aspects that may contribute to the enforceability of a contract but, in the end, I really do believe it is the company that matters most (and whether or not they wish to press a pilot for their contracted amount)