Nursing Home Litigation: Labor Dispute

Respondent purchased a nursing home on March 31, 2004. On July 1, 2004, it began operating the facility. Its nurse aides, nurse assistants, dietary employees, activity assistants and housekeeping employees were represented by a union. The respondent refused to recognize the collective bargaining representative. The union then filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. After a hearing, the regional director of the NLRB filed for a temporary injunction against alleged unfair labor practices pending the NLRB’s final decision.

NLRB showed that the successor corporation hired a substantial complement of employees from its predecessor and that there was a continuity of operations. The union represented a majority of the employees and therefore had a right to engage in collective bargaining. The court ordered the successor to engage in bargaining in good faith. The court denied NLRB’s motion to order a fired union steward reinstated due to the passage of time (twenty months) since the firing.