COMP NEWS – A healthcare staffing company was convicted of engaging in a coordinated effort to suppress the wages of its nurses, the U.S. Department of Justice has announced.

VDA OC LLC (VDA), a health care staffing company, pleaded guilty and was sentenced today for entering into and engaging in a conspiracy with a competitor to allocate employee nurses and to fix the wages of those nurses.

During the conspiracy, from about October 2016 until July 2017, VDA, then known as Advantage On Call, LLC, was one of two primary providers of contract nursing services to the Clark County School District. According to the plea agreement it entered into with the government, VDA, through one of its employees, participated in a conspiracy with another contract health care staffing firm to suppress and eliminate competition by agreeing to allocate nurses and fix the wages of those nurses. At the same hearing during which VDA pleaded guilty, U.S. District Court Judge Richard F. Boulware II sentenced VDA to pay a criminal fine of $62,000 and restitution of $72,000 to victim nurses.

“Protecting workers from antitrust schemes – such as wage-fixing and employee allocation – remains a priority for the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” said U.S. Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada. “We are committed to working with the Antitrust Division and FBI to prosecute anticompetitive conduct that affects opportunities for workers and the labor market.”

“The defendant conspired with a competitor to fix wages and undercut the salaries of school nurses,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “Everyone, especially those responsible for keeping our children healthy and safe, deserves the opportunity to compete for employment in a fair marketplace.”

To read more about the conspiracy to suppress the wages of school nurses, click here.

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