Some Healthcare Workers are Human Trafficking Victims
Filipino nurses are increasingly filing lawsuits against recruiting companies that lured them to the US with inflated promises of free housing, market wages, and good jobs. Many ended up in understaffed nursing homes, facing impossible work demands in situations that could threaten their professional licenses.
If you’re an immigrant who’s been recruited to work in the US and find your situation far more difficult than you imagined, you may be the victim of human trafficking. Call Castillo and Associates at 800-497-9774 to learn about your rights and how federal and state laws may apply.
Healthcare Job Vacancies Filled by Exploited Immigrant Applicants
Thousands of foreign nurses come to the US annually. Most come from the Philippines, whose training programs mirror American nursing schools. They’re relied upon to fill positions caring for some of the most vulnerable people in the country. Many claim they deal with wage theft, unsafe working conditions and are threatened with lawsuits if they quit or are fired.
Because they’re immigrants who signed contracts with recruiting agencies, compared to American employees, it’s far more difficult for them to quit one job and take another. In interviews with NBC News, healthcare workers said they’re in jobs in organizations so understaffed they couldn’t meet their patients’ basic needs.
They claim their employers violate federal law that requires they’re paid at least the local prevailing wage. There are also problems with unpaid overtime and promised benefits, such as free housing, which they never received. Some jobs are in high-crime areas, compounding these workers’ difficulties.
Recruiters Threaten Lawsuits if Workers Quit
Workers who leave these situations before their multi-year contracts run out potentially face tens of thousands of dollars in penalties, forced arbitration, or lawsuits. As a result, workers are in positions where their employers want them to be – trapped between continuing untenable jobs or financial ruin. This keeps most of these desperate workers where they are.
Healthcare organizations and nursing home operators increasingly rely on foreign help to work jobs Americans no longer want. They’re exploiting Filipinos because American workers, fed up with low wages and terrible working conditions, are leaving the nursing home industry and taking better jobs elsewhere.
It’s estimated 100,000 nurses left their jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic. Many had enough work stress and were burned out from the untenable workloads. Nursing homes usually pay lower wages than hospitals. As a result, more than 200,000 workers, including physical therapists, nurses, and other staff, fled the industry since the COVID-19 pandemic started.
The Promise of Good Jobs and the Reality of Illegal Contracts
The nurses coming to the US with green cards (or EB-3 visas) can leave jobs without impacting their immigration status, unlike workers with temporary or H-1B visas. But foreign recruiting firms give them multi-year, one-sided contracts whose terms may be legally unenforceable. Many workers sign them despite not knowing English well and without the help of legal counsel advising them of the contracts’ legality.
Some of these recruiting company tactics used to keep healthcare workers in their jobs are illegal, according to the federal Department of Labor (DOL). In March, they sued staffing agency Advanced Care Staffing in New York federal court, claiming the repayment provision in contracts is a kickback violating the federal Fair Labor Standards Act by reducing earned hourly wages below what’s required.
The DOL lawsuit alleges Advanced Care Staffing forced nurses who tried to leave their jobs before their contract was up into arbitration. They’ve also sought:
- Tens of thousands of dollars the company allegedly expected to earn from the employees
- The cost of the arbitration proceedings
- Their attorneys’ fees
A 2019 court ruling stated nursing home operator SentosaCare and a recruiting agency it used in the Philippines violated the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act. It threatened workers with financial harm by including a $25,000 penalty in their contracts with immigrant nurses. The company sued nurses for $250,000 for allegedly breaching their agreements. The parties settled the claim for $3.2 million last year.
Despite some legal progress, with so much money at stake, and thousands of foreign healthcare workers in the US, dozens of other lawsuits against nurses in state courts across the country are pending.
Contact an Experienced Immigration Lawyer
Immigration and contract law are complicated, but our immigration attorneys at Castillo & Associates can speak with you about protecting your rights against human traffickers. They’re based in four Southern California offices and have nearly 25 years of experience helping clients with Immigration Law issues. To schedule a free consultation, call 1 800-497-9774 or email us at castillolaw2000@aol.com.
Attorney Domingo Castillo handles workers’ compensation, personal injury, family law & immigration throughout Southern California from our 5 offices: Indio, Pomona, Riverside, San Diego & Cathedral City. We help clients file injury claims, obtain residency & citizenship, and we assist families through divorce, child custody and all family law matters.
