Just told hospital is reducing my pay 50% prior to start date

NedRN · Mar 17, 2021

Contract = legal grounds. In any case, the hospital is not paying you, you are the agency's employee. They may or may not be cutting the bill rate in half, but the agency is not going to provide proof. Even if they did, it doesn't matter. What matters is your contract with the agency.

Fair warning, the contract you signed was designed to protect the agency, not you. But if a good contract, you can sue for payment for the entire contractual period. Will you? Well I've done it and won (had a great case), but I wouldn't do it again. Not usually worth it. See if you can get out of your housing and move on.

Likely the assignment was previously a crisis rate, and things have normalized (enough) at that hospital so they don't feel the need to pay so much. And their contract with the agency (possibly a vendor manager) allows an escape. Or they are simply depending on their strength as a client to know the agency (or vendor manager) is not going to sue them but wants to keep the business relationship and so will allow a cancellation.

As it is your agency who is your employer, you cannot sue the hospital for breach of contract, it would have to be the agency. Read your contract carefully. You can always call a labor lawyer and see if a case is worth pursuing. Or if the new compensation is good enough, you can just do the assignment. Or sue after the assignment is over if you have a case.

Capsaicin` · Mar 18, 2021

Thanks so much for weighing in Ned.

I had previously signed an arbitration agreement so I'm trying to contact lawyers who could help but it's been difficult to find one. Additionally I think my travel company will want me to sign a new contract with the reduced pay rate prior to starting. So it sounds like I would have a tough time and it doesn't sound worth it.

NedRN · Mar 18, 2021

Certainly not worth paying a lawyer attempting to break an arbitration agreement!