Settlement reached in ‘no poach’ case involving an Elgin an staffing agency
The Illinois attorney general’s office has reached a $1.8 million settlement in a case of a temporary staffing agency accused of entering a “no poach” agreement with competitors.Metro Staff, an Elgin-based staffing agency, was accused in court documents of unlawfully working with two competitors to prohibit workers from switching between the involved agencies to lower employee wages and thus violating a state antitrust law. The settlement, announced Tuesday, will go to workers affected by the alleged activity.“This settlement prioritizes compensation for workers because they are the ones most impacted by these agreements that limit wages and job opportunities,” Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in a news release. “When employers conspire to keep wages down, Illinois workers and their families suffer.”It wraps up a part of litigation that began in 2020 when Raoul's office filed a lawsuit against Metro Staff, Elite Staffing, Midway Staffing and their shared client Colony Display LLC — where workers were the victims of lower wages.Colony agreed to a $1.2 million settlement in 2023, and Elite Staffing reached a $1.5 million settlement in August. The Midway Staffing case is still pending.Edward French, president of Metro Staff, defended the company, telling the Sun-Times that his company tries to avoid employees from moving between different staffing agencies not to keep their wages low, but to guarantee they’re not working overtime without getting overtime pay because the companies can’t track work performed at competing agencies. “Candidly, I disagree with the settlement and the findings, it was just a financial decision,” he said about the deal.Raoul’s office is now involved in a series of cases challenging alleged “no poach” agreements. In 2022, the office filed suit against six staffing agencies and one other client.“I think this is actually a great approach,” said José Frausto, executive director of the Chicago Worker’s Collaborative, an advocacy group for temp workers.He said that for years his organization struggled to figure out how to stop these — what he believes are frequent — agreements between staffing agencies, but the recent success of these legal cases shows a path forward. “The fact the attorney general was able to intervene in this, it’s a good step.”The Illinois Staff and Searching Association, which represents staffing agencies in Illinois, declined to comment about the effects these cases are having on the broader industry in the state.However, Chris Williams, a Chicago-area labor lawyer who works with the Worker’s Collaborative, said the cases were impacting more than just the affected companies.“I do think it’s significant,” he said, “and I know it’s got the industry’s attention.”
The Illinois attorney general’s office has reached a $1.8 million settlement in a case of a temporary staffing agency accused of entering a “no poach” agreement with competitors.
Metro Staff, an Elgin-based staffing agency, was accused in court documents of unlawfully working with two competitors to prohibit workers from switching between the involved agencies to lower employee wages and thus violating a state antitrust law. The settlement, announced Tuesday, will go to workers affected by the alleged activity.
“This settlement prioritizes compensation for workers because they are the ones most impacted by these agreements that limit wages and job opportunities,” Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in a news release. “When employers conspire to keep wages down, Illinois workers and their families suffer.”
It wraps up a part of litigation that began in 2020 when Raoul's office filed a lawsuit against Metro Staff, Elite Staffing, Midway Staffing and their shared client Colony Display LLC — where workers were the victims of lower wages.
Colony agreed to a $1.2 million settlement in 2023, and Elite Staffing reached a $1.5 million settlement in August. The Midway Staffing case is still pending.
Edward French, president of Metro Staff, defended the company, telling the Sun-Times that his company tries to avoid employees from moving between different staffing agencies not to keep their wages low, but to guarantee they’re not working overtime without getting overtime pay because the companies can’t track work performed at competing agencies.
“Candidly, I disagree with the settlement and the findings, it was just a financial decision,” he said about the deal.
Raoul’s office is now involved in a series of cases challenging alleged “no poach” agreements. In 2022, the office filed suit against six staffing agencies and one other client.
“I think this is actually a great approach,” said José Frausto, executive director of the Chicago Worker’s Collaborative, an advocacy group for temp workers.
He said that for years his organization struggled to figure out how to stop these — what he believes are frequent — agreements between staffing agencies, but the recent success of these legal cases shows a path forward. “The fact the attorney general was able to intervene in this, it’s a good step.”
The Illinois Staff and Searching Association, which represents staffing agencies in Illinois, declined to comment about the effects these cases are having on the broader industry in the state.
However, Chris Williams, a Chicago-area labor lawyer who works with the Worker’s Collaborative, said the cases were impacting more than just the affected companies.
“I do think it’s significant,” he said, “and I know it’s got the industry’s attention.”
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