New Jersey nursing home operators are facing hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines due to ramped up enforcement of the state’s minimum staffing law.
At least 10 nursing homes in the state were cited for multiple short-staffing violations by the state Department of Health over the past six weeks, according to a local news report. Those facilities are facing a total of at least $425,000 in penalties, according to NJ Spotlight News. The biggest hit appears to be a $114,000 tab against a Matawan facility.
Offenders can face daily fines of $1,000 under the 2020 law, which also allows for $5,000 fines for violations that lead to staff injuries. Aggressive enforcement and the levying of fines have ramped up only this year, although state officials have not provided more specifics about timing and amounts.
Given the figures cited in this week’s media report, the state’s approximate 350 nursing homes could be on track to accumulate more than $3.7 million in fines annually, possibly much more.
The leader of the state’s LTC ombudsman office indicated in the Spotlight News report that the state thus far has levied fines only against providers who have been found in violation three or more times.
Providers fight back
Nursing home operators say the law is untenable, given the shortage of long-term care workers in the state.
In August, the Health Care Association of New Jersey and six long-term care facilities filed a lawsuit against the state in New Jersey Superior Court, arguing there are not enough direct care workers to meet the state’s strict staff-to-resident ratios.
“In the years prior to 2020, there were already ‘long-standing staffing shortages or low-staffing ratios’ in nursing homes,” the lawsuit states. “… The pandemic that followed made an already difficult situation exponentially worse.”
The lawsuit further notes that the state Department of Health can impose penalties of $1,000 per day for failing to comply with the “impossible mandates” of the state law. Some facilities are amassing repeated huge fines.
“The critical shortage of long term care employees is undeniable. Penalizing businesses for failing to do the impossible — hire workers that do not exist—is unconstitutional and cannot stand.” Peter Slocum of Lowenstein Sandler LLP, told McKnight’s Long-Term Care News.
Andy Aronson, president and CEO of the Health Care Association of New Jersey, declined comment on the matter Wednesday, citing the pending litigation.
The facilities that have been cited will have the opportunity to appeal the fines and payment of the fines will likely be deferred while the litigation is pending.
