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Magtoles v. United Staffing Registry Inc.

Bulk of Claims of Forced Labor Violating TVPA §1589 Survive Employer's Bid for Dismissal

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MEMORANDUM & ORDER Plaintiffs are citizens of the Republic of the Philippines who work as health care professionals in the New York area. Plaintiffs bring this putative class action against Defendants United Staffing Registry, Inc. and Benjamin H. Santos for violations of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (“TVPA”), 18 U.S.C. §1589 et seq. The complaint also asserts individual claims for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and fraud. Presently before the Court is Defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim. (ECF No. 29.) For the reasons set forth below, the court grants Defendants’ motion to the limited extent that Plaintiff Ana Mervine Espinosa asserts claims under Section 1589 of the TVPA. The motion is otherwise denied in full. BACKGROUND I. Factual Background On a motion to dismiss, the court accepts the truth of all well-pleaded factual allegations and draws all reasonable inferences in Plaintiffs’ favor. Melendez v. City of New York, 16 F.4th 992, 1010 (2d Cir. 2021). In addition to the complaint, the court may consider documents incorporated by reference into the complaint and matters of proper judicial notice and public record. Id. at 996. A. The Defendants Defendant Benjamin Santos is the owner, president, and chief executive officer of Defendant United Staffing Registry, Inc., a staffing agency that employs health care professionals. (ECF No. 1 (“Compl.”)

14, 18.) For more than ten years, Defendants have recruited Filipino health care professionals to work for United Staffing in the New York area. (Id. 18.) B. The Nurse Plaintiffs and Their Employment Contracts In 2018 and 2019, Plaintiffs Mary Grace Magtoles, Aira C. Tan, and Ana Myrene Espinosa (collectively, the “Nurse Plaintiffs”) each signed United Staffing’s “standard employment contract” to work for the company as a registered nurse. (Id.

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