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Four United Home Care nurses lodged a class action lawsuit against a health care staffing company claiming that they were duped into “draconian” employment contracts and threatened with deportation.
Lead plaintiffs Mary M., Aira T., Ana E., and Ana E. say that they and more than 100 other Filipino nurses were misled into signing contracts that required them to pay back $90,000 in purported recruitment fees to United Home Care, also known as United Staffing Registry. They seek to represent all other Filipino healthcare professionals who have been employed by the company since April 5, 2011, in their class action lawsuit filed in New York federal court Wednesday.
The class action contends that United Home Care paid nothing to recruit the foreign workers, but threatens them with a report to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) if they stop working for the company before they pay the fee. In addition, the plaintiffs say that the employment contract prohibits United Home Care nurses from working anywhere else in the United States until they pay the $90,000 so-called recruitment fee.
“Defendants are foreign labor recruiters who have recruited more than 100 nurses and other health care professionals from the Philippines to work for them in this District under contracts of indentured servitude,” states the lawsuit.
“While the defendants characterize the $90,000.00 indenture as ‘liquidated damages,’ there is no basis for this claim,” contends the complaint, which asserts that United Home Care does not pay for the recruitment of workers from the Philippines, nor does the company pay for their visa applications or training.
“Indeed, the defendants not only require the health care professionals to pay all of these costs, but also charge them for other expenses including labor certification fees that the employer is required by law to pay and may not pass on to the employee,” alleges the class action.
The United Home Care nurses accuse the staffing company of violating the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, along with New York worker protection laws. The class action lawsuit is seeking damages on behalf of all Filipino healthcare professionals who worked for the company under the allegedly draconian employment contract, along with a court order prohibiting United Home Care from using and enforcing that contract.
Are you a United Home Care nurse? Have you been forced to work under a contract requiring you to pay thousands in recruitment fees? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below!
The plaintiffs are represented by John Howley of The Howley Law Firm, PC.
The United Home Care Nurses Class Action Lawsuit is Mary M., et al. v. United Staffing Registry, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:21-cv-01850 in the U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York.
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One thought on Filipino Nurses Claim ‘Indentured Servitude’ in United Home Care Class Action
I hear you Jayvee.