Staffing Agency VocoVision’s Noncompete Agreements Violate Washington State Law, Class Action Says

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A proposed class action lawsuit claims national staffing agency VocoVision essentially deprives its Washington-based independent contractors of higher pay and employment opportunities by including unlawful noncompetition covenants in its contracts.

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The eight-page lawsuit says that VocoVision—which partners with school districts to staff specialized positions such as speech and language pathologists, school psychologists, and special education teachers—has run afoul of a Washington law that renders noncompete agreements “void and unenforceable” for independent contractors who make at or below $250,000 a year.

The agency’s noncompetition covenants, which prevent independent contractors from “accepting work from a contracting school district during the period stated in the contract and for one year after the final date of the contract,” result in “highly skilled, qualified, and sought-after teachers and staff … working for depressed wages” and further limit the state’s supply of qualified educators, the suit claims.

The plaintiff, a Washington resident and former independent contractor with VocoVision, worked as a tele-special education teacher in Federal Way Public Schools in Seattle, the case relays. The woman earned less than $250,000 a year, which meant the noncompete agreement included in her contract with the defendant was illegal under state law, the complaint contends.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone who worked as a Washington-based independent contractor for VocoVision at any time since March 8, 2020, who earned $250,000 or less annually from the agency, and whose contract contained a noncompete covenant.

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