Travel Nurse Staffing Firms Accused of Bait-and-Switch Payment Scheme

Three nurses have accused two Colorado travel nurse staffing companies of implementing a bait-and-switch payment scheme. They have accused the firms of making false pay offers, then cut the promised wages after the nurses moved to the assignment location. They have also accused the two companies of failing to properly pay overtime rates.

Case background

Travel nurses and travel nurse staffing companies typically enter into lucrative contracts with hospitals for temporary staffing. Fastaff LLC and U.S. Nursing Corp. are accused of luring nurses into well-paying contracts, with no intention of actually paying the hourly rate they promised.

The nurses claimed that these companies bet that once nurses have spent weeks or months finding an assignment and making housing and moving arrangements, it’s no longer feasible for them to walk away when the companies make unilateral pay cuts. Fastaff employees “consistently report” that after they commit to a nursing assignment, a recruiter tells them that the hospital has suddenly adjusted rates and Fastaff must then cut employee pay or hours. This has resulted in nurses losing thousands of dollars, without the financial power to walk away. The nurses argue that even if it were true that hospitals changed their rates, it should not affect their existing employment agreement.

The far-reaching lawsuit alleges a number of claims, including breach of contract, unjust enrichment, fraudulent inducement, fraudulent concealment, violation of state wage payment laws for more than 40 states, violation of state and federal overtime laws and violations of California labor law and the California Unfair Competition Law.

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