East-coast based operators CareOne and HealthBridge Management will get another shot to prove that two SEIU-affiliated unions acted unlawfully during a 2012 labor dispute.
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday agreed to vacate a previous ruling in favor of the New England Health Care Employees Union and 1199SEIU United HealthCare Workers East and rehear the case, Bloomberg Law first reported.
The companies first sued the unions in November 2012, alleging that the groups engaged in a long-term pattern of criminal sabotage, intimidation and other acts of extortion in a coordinated illegal campaign that targeted both CareOne and HealthBridge if they didn’t meet the union’s demands. The long-term care operators alleged that the tactics violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act.
CareOne claimed in court documents that after an unsuccessful attempt to negotiate the renewal of a collective bargaining agreement for its Connecticut facilities, and a called strike by NEHCEU, the facilities were vandalized the night before the strike began.
CareOne also said that patient identifying information was mixed up. Medical records were altered, medical equipment was damaged or hidden, and laundry equipment was vandalized.
The operators also alleged that union documents later obtained in discovery revealed plans to incite workers to “become angry about their working conditions” and to resort to “more militant” levels of activity.
A 2019 ruling by the U.S. District Court for New Jersey concluded that the labor tactics engaged by the unions weren’t “extortionate” and dismissed the complaint. The appeals court in December, however, suggested that the case should be decided by a jury before granting the appeal last week.
“A fair-minded and properly instructed jury might well side with the unions, but it could side with Care One, and Care One should have its day in court,” the court concluded.
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