The attorney general for Washington DC announced settlements with three companies over noncompete agreements, including one staffing firm. The other two were a social club and food services company.
Accountable Healthcare Staffing Inc. settled over allegations that 10 of the company’s workers in the District of Columbia were subject to noncompete agreements, according to the department.
“Accountable Healthcare Staffing values its healthcare providers, who deliver the highest quality of service to our customers and their patients across the country,” the company said in a statement to SIA. “Accountable cooperated fully with the Attorney General’s Office of the District of Columbia in its investigation and reached a settlement in which the company did not accept any liability for the alleged claims.”
The attorney general’s office noted that Accountable Healthcare Staffing cooperated with its investigation and agreed to implement changes to its policies and procedures. The company will stop using noncompete agreements in the District of Columbia and inform workers who did sign agreements that they will not be enforced.
In addition, the company will pay the 10 workers who were required to sign unemployment agreements $1,000 each, and one worker who was unemployed for 90 days as a result of a noncompete will receive an additional $104,845 in restitution for lost wages and damages. The company will also pay $10,000 to the District of Columbia.
A law in the District of Columbia makes it illegal for employers to impose noncompete agreements on workers who earn less than $150,000 per year. The law went into effect on Oct. 1, 2022. Employers who violate the law may be required to pay harmed workers up to three times the amount of wages they lost as a result of the illegal contact.
The two nonstaffing businesses in the District of Columbia are also being required to pay penalties along with compensation to workers because of noncompete agreements.