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Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Ind. Decisions - 7th Circuit decides one Indiana case today
In St. Margaret Mercy v. NLRB, a 5-page opinion, Judge Posner writes:
The Labor Board found that St. Margaret, which owns and operates two hospitals in Indiana (but for the sake of simplicity we’ll assume they’re one), interfered with the right of the hospital nurses to organize and discriminated against one of the nurses, who was a union activist. The interference, the Board ruled, violated section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act, and the discrimination section 8(a)(3). 29 U.S.C. §§ 158(a)(1), (a)(3). * * *The hospital’s rule forbids solicitations in patient care areas, period, yet the only solicitations that have ever drawn a rebuke from management are, as the hospital’s lawyer acknowledged at argument, those in support of union activities. Moreover, it is far from obvious that a patient in intensive care will be less disturbed by a nurse hawking bikini lotion or organizing a birthday party than by a union organizer. Patients, especially those in intensive care, and their family members and friends, would like to think that nurses when on duty give their exclusive attention to their professional duties and are not distracted by engaging in charitable, social, or commercial activities. The singling out of the union-supporting nurse for rebuke was discrimination against union activities.
The Board’s order is amply supported, and so the petition for review is denied and the Board’s application for an order judicially enforcing its order is granted.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 11, 2008 02:32 PM
Posted to Ind Fed D.Ct. Decisions