Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced a settlement with Metro Staff Inc. (Metro Staff) that resolves allegations Metro Staff entered into no-poach agreements and engaged in wage fixing with two other staffing agencies. The settlement requires Metro Staff to pay $1.8 million to compensate temporary workers impacted by the unlawful activity.
“This settlement prioritizes compensation for workers because they are the ones most impacted by these agreements that limit wages and job opportunities,” Raoul said. “When employers conspire to keep wages down, Illinois workers and their families suffer. My office has and will continue to enforce laws that protect workers’ rights to fair wages and opportunities to better provide for their families.”
In 2020, Raoul’s office filed a lawsuit against three staffing agencies, Metro Staff, Elite Staffing Inc. (Elite) and Midway Staffing Inc., and their common client Colony Display LLC (Colony). Raoul alleged the staffing agencies formed a no-poach agreement to refuse to solicit or hire each other’s employees and to fix the wages paid to employees. Colony, which is a manufacturing company, acted as an intermediary between the parties by facilitating communication about the unlawful agreements and assisting with enforcement of the no-poach agreements.
Raoul’s lawsuit further alleged that the staffing agencies eliminated competition and harmed temporary workers in Illinois by interfering with their ability to seek better employment opportunities, wages and benefits.
This settlement follows a $1.2 million settlement Raoul’s office reached with Colony in 2023, and a $1.5 million settlement Raoul’s office reached with Elite in August 2024.
Under the terms of the Metro Staff settlement, which was approved by Cook County Circuit Court Judge Joel Chupack, Metro Staff will pay $1.8 million that will primarily be used to compensate temporary workers impacted by Metro Staff’s role in no-poach and wage-fixing agreements. Metro Staff must also implement measures designed to ensure that affected workers will be free to work for the employer of their choice. In addition, the settlement also requires Metro Staff to implement compliance measures and prohibits the company from engaging in conduct that violates antitrust laws.
The settlement agreement advances Attorney General Raoul’s ongoing efforts to advocate for workers and oppose unlawful employment practices, such as those that restrict employees’ rights and opportunities. Raoul filed a similar lawsuit, which remains pending, against another group of staffing agencies and their client, Vee Pak LLC (which does business as Voyant Beauty). Raoul also led a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general acting through federal litigation to oppose no-poach agreements that will impact Illinois workers.
Attorney General Raoul encourages workers who believe their rights have been violated to call his Workplace Rights Hotline at 1-844-740-5076 or file a complaint in English or en Español by visiting the Attorney General’s website.
The case was handled by Bureau Chief Elizabeth Maxeiner and Assistant Attorneys General Jennifer Coronel and Brian Yost for Raoul’s Antitrust Bureau, and Bureau Chief Alvar Ayala for Raoul’s Workplace Rights Bureau.
