By David Goldstein In welcome news for hospital employers, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania recently dismissed FLSA, ERISA, and RICO claims in six related putative class and collective actions brought against hospital systems and affiliated entities in the Philadelphia area on behalf of a potential class of thousands of employees… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: September 2011
Healthcare Unions Plan Major California Strike
Two of the largest California-based unions representing employees in the healthcare industry are moving closer to engaging in a large-scale, statewide strike against hospitals run by both Kaiser Permanente and Sutter Health. While both the the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) and the California Nurses Association (CNA)/ National Nurses United (NNU) have held individual… Continue Reading
CMS Issues Advisory Opinion Approving Physician Noncompete
By Bob Drake In a recently issued Advisory Opinion the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved a physician noncompete agreement included in a hospital recruitment package that would restrict the physician from practicing at five hospitals located within a 25-mile radius from the hospital. The noncompete did not restrict the physician from practicing… Continue Reading
Hospital Lawfully Prohibited Pro-Union “Inflammatory” Buttons
By Jennifer L. Mora On August 26, 2011, a National Labor Relations Board administrative law judge ruled in Columbia Memorial Hospital that a Hudson, New York hospital did not violate the National Labor Relations Act when it prohibited employees from wearing “inflammatory” buttons while the hospital was negotiating with SEIU for a collective bargaining agreement. Although… Continue Reading
NLRB Paves Way for Unions to Organize Long-Term Care Facilities
By Carie Torrence Marking the end of Chairman Liebman’s tenure, the National Labor Relations Board issued three significant decisions reversing long-standing Board precedent. In Specialty Healthcare and Rehabilitation Centers of Mobile, a decision of particular importance to long-term care and other non-acute healthcare facilities, the Board paved the way for the proliferation of bargaining units… Continue Reading