Unionized Hospitals Must Tread Carefully Before Implementing Communicable Disease Policies

Thumbnail image for Flu shot.jpgRecently, in Virginia Mason Hospital, 357 NLRB No. 53, the National Labor Relations Board considered whether a Seattle hospital violated its duty to bargain under the National Labor Relations Act when it implemented a flu-prevention policy that required nurses to wear a mask if they refused to be immunized against influenza. In doing so, the Board reversed the administrative law judge’s (ALJ) holding that the hospital’s decision to implement the policy was permissible because it went to the hospital’s “core purpose” of protecting its patients’ health and was narrowly tailored to achieve its purpose. Continue reading this entry at Littler's Healthcare Employment Counsel.

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