Nurses Secure $28.5 Million 'No-Poach' Settlement With PA Hospitals

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Geisinger Health and Evangelical Community Hospital have agreed to pay $28.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by healthcare workers who alleged that the two Pennsylvania health systems secretly agreed not to recruit each other’s staff, unlawfully limiting job opportunities and wages.

The lawsuit, filed in February 2021 by registered nurses Nichole Leib, Kevin Brokenshire, and Diane Weigley, claimed that Geisinger and Evangelical entered an illegal “no-poach agreement” that restricted the hiring of each other’s healthcare workers, including nurses, physicians, and therapists, between 2014 and 2020. The lawsuit alleged that this pact was reached through private verbal discussions and later confirmed via email, effectively reducing competition for staff in central Pennsylvania.

The federal Department of Justice (DOJ) initially uncovered the alleged agreement during a 2020 investigation into Geisinger’s proposed partial acquisition of Evangelical. In its civil antitrust complaint, the DOJ stated that executives from both hospitals had entered a “no-poach agreement” that diminished competition for hospital personnel and “directly harms healthcare workers seeking competitive pay and working conditions.”

• Total settlement: $28.5 million, with Geisinger responsible for $19 million and Evangelical Community Hospital contributing $9.5 million. 
• Contingency: approval by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. 
• Lawsuit class: former health care workers (nurses, therapists, technicians, and others) employed in facilities in Union, Snyder, Northumberland, Montour, Lycoming, and Columbia counties between January 1, 2014, and August 5, 2020. 
• Payouts: each class member will receive at least $250. After deducting up to $3.5 million in legal fees and payments to class representatives (up to $10,000 each), the average payout per person is expected to be $1,500. 
• Other terms: release and dismissal of all claims against Geisinger and Evangelical, pending court approval. 

Importantly, both organizations have stated that the settlement carries no admission of wrongdoing. 

Geisinger’s statement to Newsweek said that the agreement allows them to “focus fully on what matters most—our patients, our people and the communities we serve. Our employees and clinicians are the heart of our organization. We remain deeply committed to fostering a workplace where every individual is respected, supported and recognized for their contributions.” 

For nurses, this case shows the growing legal and ethical scrutiny surrounding hiring practices in healthcare. “No-poach” agreements, which have appeared in multiple antitrust cases across the nation, can significantly restrict nurse mobility and wage growth, often without employees’ knowledge. The DOJ has been cracking down on such arrangements in recent years, warning healthcare organizations that agreements limiting worker opportunity may violate the Sherman Act.

If the settlement receives final approval, it will mark one of the largest class-action recoveries tied to alleged no-poach behavior within the healthcare industry, setting an important precedent for nurses and allied health professionals advocating for fair market competition in employment.

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