Several hundred nursing home employees in Connecticut were unfairly laid off last year, according to a federal labor official who on Thursday upheld a grievance filed by the union representing the workers.
According to the complaint filed on behalf of 700 nursing home employees, nursing home operator Health Bridge Inc. laid off union workers subcontracted by the firm HCSG to perform laundry and housekeeping services, and then rehired them days later for lower pay and seniority. On Thursday, Jonathan B. Kreisberg, general counsel for the National Labor Relations Board, ruled that Health Bridge’s actions were illegal, and that the company acted in bad faith regarding the contract between itself and the union representing the workers.
His decision would compel Health Bridge to pay back wages to those workers, and to restore their seniority, according to the Connecticut Post. Health Bridge has fired back against the union’s claims, as well as Thursday’s NLRB decision, arguing that HCSG had fired its employees after its agreement with Health Bridge had ended. The company must respond to the NLRB by Friday, April 1. A hearing on the matter has been set for July 12, according to the Post.
