Provider group slams labor board rulings

An assisted living group says that two recent National Labor Relations Board rulings will lead to higher costs for seniors and fragmented services.

The Assisted Living Federation of America says that the first case the NLRB ruled on, known as Specialty Healthcare, makes it possible for workers of different classifications to be represented by multiple unions within the same long-term care facility.

“The NLRB continues to produce unprecedented decisions that alter carefully balanced rules that employers have followed for years. The changes resulting from the decisions will make serving seniors more complex and expensive with no benefit to anyone except big unions,” said ALFA CEO Richard P. Grimes, in a statement.

ALFA also objects to the board's decision to overturn a 2007 ruling that allowed an immediate challenge to a union after a card-check vote, and let employees have a secret-ballot vote when an employer voluntarily recognized a union.

“ALFA believes that the secret ballot election is the gold standard, as the NLRB has recognized in the past, and we disagree with any decisions that would limit or remove employees' rights to make an informed choice in an official, NLRB-supervised secret ballot election,” Grimes added.

More in News

Senate bill seeks to empower long-term care ombudsmen, strengthen eldercare workforce

Senate bill seeks to empower long-term care ombudsmen, ...

Senate lawmakers are seeking to strengthen and expand the long-term care ombudsman program and boost the eldercare workforce through a bill to reauthorize the Older Americans Act of 1965. The ...

CMS: Providers may need to reimburse beneficiaries due to inaccurate therapy denial ...

Therapy providers should review therapy cap denials for 2013 and refund any beneficiary payments for these services, according to a Medicare newsletter released Thursday.

Court upholds $5.75 million verdict against former nursing home officers, board members ...

A $5.75 million verdict will stand and there will be no new trial in the case against officers and board members of a former Pennsylvania nursing home, a federal judge recently ruled.