Unfair labor practice finding at California nursing home results in $1.25M penalty

A skilled nursing facility in California was found to have engaged in unfair labor practices and has been ordered to rectify those practices.

An administrative law judge ordered the buyer of Yuba Skilled Nursing Center, Nasaky/Thekkek Health Services, to pay what the National Labor Relations Board estimates to be approximately $1.25 million in back pay and interest, rehire 50 employees and recognize the union (the Service Employees International Union, United Healthcare WorkersWest) that represented the workers under the seller of the nursing home.

The union complaint said that the owners of Yuba Skilled Nursing Center failed to recognize and bargain in good faith with the existing union as required by law, and by refusing to rehire employees of the previous owner, discriminated against union employees.

“In this case, the unfair labor practices occurred on a large scale. There were dozens of discriminates,” wrote administrative law judge Gerald Etchingham in his decision. “Moreover, the unfair labor practices in this case were very serious. After purchasing the facility, (the owners of the nursing home), driven by anti-union animus, discriminated against members of the bargaining unit in assembling its workforce. This is tantamount to an effort to wholly dislodge the union from its statutory role as bargaining representative of the employees.”

Since the owners of the nursing home did not file any exceptions to the decision, it was adopted by the NLRB as a final order, and the nursing home’s owners are expected to immediately comply.

In a blog post on Solutions Law Press’ website, management attorney and consultant, Cynthia Marcotte Stamer, said this case should serve as a reminder to buyers of union-organized businesses of the seriousness of mishandling union-related obligations.

Buyers of union-organized businesses have many additional labor-related risks to examine when considering such transactions, Marcotte Stamer wrote. Because of those additional risks, she wrote, “… (P)arties contemplating or participating in these transactions are urged to engage and consult with competent legal counsel with specific experience in such labor management relations and multi-employer benefit plan matters early in the process.”