Prime Healthcare ordered to pay workers $6.5 million over owed raises at California hospitals

Prime Healthcare in California plans to appeal a decision by the National Labor Relations Board ordering the health system to pay $6.5 million to 500 employees for back wages.

Prime will appeal to the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.

"Prime Healthcare disagrees with the NLRB's decision," said Elizabeth Nikels, vice president of Marketing and Communications for Prime.

On Tuesday, the NLRB rejected Prime's appeal of a 2014 regional NLRB ruling requiring the health system to pay employees annual raises stipulated in an expired 2011 contract. The NLRB said the language in the old contract provided for continued annual raises, even if the contract was not renewed.

The NLRB ordered Prime Healthcare to pay $6.5 million in back "anniversary" raises to 500 employees at Encino Medical Center and Garden Grove Medical Center.

The union includes phlebotomists, pharmacy technicians and food service workers at Encino Medical Center and licensed vocational nurses, secretaries and maintenance personnel in Garden Grove, according to a published source.

Encino Hospital Medical Center is a not-for-profit member of the Prime Healthcare Foundation and its registered nurses have supported Prime Healthcare in its mission over the years, Nikels said.

"We value the work of all our staff and nurses and their commitment to providing exceptional patient care, and have provided wage and salary increases since this issue first arose years ago," she said. 

[Also: Justice Department joins whistleblower suit against Prime Healthcare]

Prime and the the workers' union, SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, have not negotiated a contract for five years. The union claims Prime has refused to negotiate one.

This is not the first clash between Prime and its unions.

[Also: Prime donates Glendora Community Hospital to nonprofit Prime Foundation]

In November 2015, the NLRB issued a decision requiring Prime Healthcare to reimburse 630 employees at Centinela Medical Center in Inglewood, Calif., an estimated $1.6 million for cutting workers' healthcare benefits over a five-year period, the union said.

In June 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Prime Healthcare's appeal of a decision to dismiss an antitrust suit Prime filed against the union, the SEIU-UHW said.

In May 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice joined a Medicare fraud lawsuit brought by an employee who said Prime allegedly increased revenue by wrongly admitting Medicare patients for overnight stays.

Twitter: @SusanJMorse