Health Staffers’ No-Poach Deal Illegal, DOJ Tells Ninth Circuit

A federal district court applied the wrong standard when it upheld an inherently illegal no-poach deal between two of the nation’s largest medical staff providers, the Justice Department told the Ninth Circuit.

Aya Healthcare Services Inc.'s antitrust lawsuit against AMN Healthcare Inc. over a provision barring Aya from offering employment to medical staff employed by AMN should be reviewed as an illegal contractual agreement under the per se standard, the DOJ said in an amicus brief filed Thursday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

It is “well-settled” under U.S. case law that these types of agreements ...