Amendments to Illinois law designed to make the pay policies of nurse staffing agencies more transparent take effect July 1.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed the bill amending the Nurse Agency Licensing Act into law May 27.
During the pandemic, hospitals and health systems have had to deal with shortages of clinicians and other healthcare professionals, and many turned to third-party staffing agencies. After compensation for travel nurses drastically increased during the public health crisis, there have been calls at federal and state levels for greater travel nurse pay transparency.
Illinois' travel nurse pay transparency law prohibits nurse staffing agencies from entering covenants not to compete with nurses and certified nurse aides. It also prohibits these agencies, in contracts with healthcare facilities, from requiring the payment of liquidated damages, conversion fees, employment fees, buy-out fees, placement fees, "or other compensation if the employee is hired as a permanent employee of a healthcare facility."
Contracts between the nurse staffing agency and healthcare facility must also be sent to the Illinois Department of Labor within five business days of their effective date.
The law also stipulates that nurse staffing agencies that do not pay an employee 100 percent of the hourly wage rate in the contract between the agency and healthcare facility must pay the employee "for the actual amount of the underpayment, plus damages of 5 percent of the amount of the underpayment."
To read the law, click here.