As reported in the New York Law Journal, A Federal
Judge will allow a group of Filipino H-1B nurses to continue their
lawsuit against Sentosa Care as a “certified class.” At issue was whether the nurses had to pursue
their claims individually or whether they could proceed in one class action
lawsuit. By allowing the case to
continue as a class, the lawsuit could lead to greater damage awards against
Sentosa Care since it is generally easier for plaintiffs to pursue litigation
together. The plaintiff’s lawyer says
that 200 H-1B nurses could now bring their claims.
The judge
laid out the case in her decision.
The substantive issue is whether Sentosa’s pursuit of a damage clause in
the employment contractual clause rises to the standard of violating the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act. The
employment agreement entitled Sentosa to $25,000 in liquidated damages if the
nurses left Sentosa’s employment prior to fulfilling the three-year
contract.
The nurses allege two claims:
- Because the nurses were not paid the contractual wage from the time that they began working, the employment agreements were breached. Therefore, Sentosa’s pursuit of the $25,000 violates several provisions of the TVPA.
- Even if the agreements were not breached, the $25,000 itself is so far above Sentosa’s actual damages that pursuit of the $25,000 violates several provisions of the TVPA. The judge notes that there is some evidence that Sentosa only spent a few thousand dollars per nurse.
