Legal Question in Employment Law in Pennsylvania

Re: New job blocked?

You may very well have a valid claim if the facts that you suggest are true.

Services at a reasonable fee.

The law provides for significant damages if the claim can be proven.

Good luck to you.

Re: New job blocked?

That certainly sounds like an antitrust violation. The good news is that the law provides for relief in a number of circumstances.

The bad news is, first, as you identified, it's very hard to prove antitrust violations. Second, bringing a claim is likely to result in retaliation by the hospitals, potentially costing the plaintiff and anyone connected to the plaintiff their jobs. That, too, can be actionable in circumstances, but it is also very hard to prove and the financial strain on the terminated people can be severe.

Please don't interpret that as an attempt to talk you out of your claim, but rather to make sure you see the potential downside.

You should speak with an attorney about the issue; there are a number who will at least provide you with a free consultation, and a number who might take the case on a contingent-fee basis. Also, excluding direct legal action, you may wish to file a complaint with the Attorney General of Pennsylvania. You likely want to speak with them in any event, even if you don't end up filing a complaint. Here's the relevant link:

http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/consumers.aspx?id=217

Re: New job blocked?

You asked about refusal to hire from competitor hospitals.

The claim you raise is called an anti-trust violation. Anti-trust is when competitors conspire to either control prices or costs. It is illegal for competitors (with very few exclusions) to talk or otherwise agree to any kind of conduct that affects free and open competition.

Yes, anti-trust does apply to employment situations. And contrary to my colleagues suggestion I believe anti-trust will be quite easy to demonstrate in this circumstance. It will raise the spectre of damages and possibly punitive damages. Further, anti-trust may also be criminally actionable.

Good news is that you can resolve this yourselves by simply going to the attorney general's office or going to each hospital's compliance officer. There is some risk in doing this but it should be minimal. Organizations are specifically prohibited from taking adverse action against an employee for bringing legitimate to the attention of their employer or the proper authorities.

You should proceed, either alone or with your colleagues to investigate and prosecute this matter. You need an attorney with experience in corporate compliance and litigation in the employment field.

Also, contrary to what another attorney suggested you should be prepared to pay something up front. In many types of claims a reputable attorney does not offer free consultations. It's not a valuable use of our time or the client's if someone is window shopping. But, the group of colleagues can probably come in as a group and prosecute the matter. This may involve simply bringing this matter to the AG, negotiating an agreement with the employers, or actually prosecuting claims in the courts. The ultimate fee on the most aggressive course may either be collected against the defendant or be a percentage of the recovery.

Please feel free to contact me to discuss this further. No matter what, you should proceed with this matter as the claims seem particularly appropriate.

Regards,

Roger