Carmen says she was paid much less than the American nurses around her. She was banned from discussing her working conditions or going out of town without notifying the agency. Health Carousel seemed to keep finding ways not to count her work toward the 6,240 hours on her contractโthe first three months of shifts didnโt qualify, the company said, because it considered that time part of her orientation period. Mandatory overtime didnโt count toward her quota, either. And because she couldnโt refuse overtime, her shifts could stretch as long as 16 hours in an understaffed emergency room.
โI was basically trapped,โ Carmen says. โDuped.โ To pay Health Carouselโs $20,000 quitting fee, she borrowed the money from her boyfriend, whoโd been saving for years to buy a house. Sheโd refused his offer before, out of guilt and pride, but was desperate to get away from Health Carousel without being sued for quitting, as had happened to many of her peers.
Now Carmen is the one suing. Sheโs filed a proposed class action in Health Carouselโs home state of Ohio, accusing the company of human trafficking. Although โtraffickingโ evokes images of people brutally beaten or chained in captivity, the legal definition is much broader and includes trying to coerce someone to do something by threatening serious harm or abuse of the legal process. In June a U.S. district judge rejected Health Carouselโs motion to dismiss the case. At the end of last year, Carmen added claims of wage theft and racketeering, and two more plaintiffs….(Read the full article)