Board Scrutinizes Long-Term Care Facility’s Motives Behind Hiring of Permanent Replacements

Seyfarth Synopsis: Board panel found that long-term care facility acted unlawfully when it permanently replaced striking workers in order to allegedly teach the union and strikers a lesson and to avoid future strikes.

 

In a recent decision, a 2-1 Board panel (Pearce, Hirozawa) ordered a long-term care facility, Piedmont Gardens, to offer to rehire union workers it replaced during a strike, finding that Piedmont Gardens replaced the striking workers out of an unlawful desire to retaliate and to discourage future protected activity.  American Baptist Homes of the West d/b/a Piedmont Gardens, 364 NLRB No. 13 (May 31, 2016). The long-term care facility provides independent living, assisted living, and skilled nursing services.  The dispute at issue followed a strike in 2010 by eighty non-professional workers over collective bargaining disputes.  The striking workers made unconditional offers to return to work after five days but the employer had permanently replaced approximately twenty of the strikers.

 

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