CHICAGO (WAND) - Multiple staffing agencies are being sued for alleged involvement in an illegal no-poach agreement, which Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said harmed temporary workers.
The suit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, is against Alternative Staffing Inc. (ASI), American Quest Staffing Solutions Inc. (American Quest), Creative Staffing Solutions Inc. (Creative), Midway Staffing Inc. (Midway), Staffing Network LLC (Staffing Network), and SureStaff Inc. (SureStaff), along with their client, Vee Pak LLC, which has been doing business as Voyant Beauty (Vee Pak).
According to Raoul's office, the temporary staffing agencies normally compete with one another to recruit and hire workers for temporary employment at third-party locations. Vee Pak, which manufactures and packages beauty products, had used all six companies to hire temporary workers at its facilities in Countryside, Ill., and Hodgkins, Ill.
Prosecutors said the staffing agencies had entered into an agreement to not recruit, solicit, hire or poach each other's temporary workers employed at Vee Pak's facilities from early 2016 until at least late 2019. The agreement helped Vee Pak and the agencies at the expense of temporary workers, as it stopped any need for the staffing agencies to compete for workers by offering better wages, benefits and conditions of employment.
Through the alleged no-poach agreeement, Raoul said the staffing agencies would monitor for temporary Vee Pak workers switching from one participating staffing agency to another. If a staffing agency noticed a worker switching to another of the participating staffing agencies, the temporary worker would be returned to their original staffing agency or fired. Prosecutors said Vee Pak helped with agreement enforcement by notifying the agency out of compliance with the agreement, ensuring the agreement continued to be enforced.
“No-poach agreements allow employers to take advantage of workers by trapping them in low-paying jobs and limiting their ability to seek better employment opportunities,” Raoul said. “I am committed to holding companies accountable when they engage in unlawful employment practices that prevent employees from seeking opportunities that allow them to better support themselves and provide for their families.”
Raoul is looking for an injunction to immediately stop the no-poach agreement. The lawsuit also seeks civil penalties and damages.
Vee Pak and Raoul's office reached a consent decree in 2020, which resolved allegations saying the company would retaliate against female employees who reported "persistent and pervasive sexual harassment in the workplace," per a press release. The consent decree requires Vee Pak take action to address sexual harassment claims.
Raoul encourages workers who believe their rights have been violated to contact the Workplace Rights Hotline at 1-844-740-5076. Complaints can also be filed through the attorney general's website.
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