NLRB NEWS: CONNECTICUT - National Labor Relations Board

July 2011Page threeNLRB NEWS:ConnecticutHow to File an UnfairLabor Practice (ULP)Charge: Anyone may file a ULPcharge with the NLRB bysubmitting a charge form toany Regional Office. Theform identifies the parties tothe charge and includes abrief statement of the basisfor the charge, and must besigned by the charging party. Forms are available on theNLRB website, or may beobtained from any NLRBregional office. The HartfordRegional Office hasinformation officers availableto assist with the filing ofcharges. You must file the chargewithin 6 months of theunfair labor practice.When a Charge is Filed: The NLRB Regional Officewill investigate. Thecharging party is responsiblefor promptly presentingevidence in support of thecharge, which usuallyconsists of a sworn statementand documentation of keyevents. The Region will ask thecharged party to present aresponse to the charge, andwill further investigate thecharge to establish all facts. After a full investigation, theRegion will determinewhether or not the charge hasmerit.Regional Office Unfair Labor Practice NewsSettlement reached in Complaints alleging Unfair LaborPractice Strike at Four Connecticut Nursing HomesA Connecticut nursing home operator agreed to settle a case involvingmultiple allegations of unlawful suspensions, discharges and unilateralchanges by offering reinstatement and backpay to all discharged andstriking workers, and signing a new three-year collective bargainingagreement with its employees’ union, New England Health CareEmployees Union District 1199, SEIU.The settlement, which was reached midway through a hearing beforean NLRB administrative law judge in the Hartford Regional Office andapproved by the judge in May, ends a long-running dispute which grewinto a strike by almost 400 employees at four nursing homes inConnecticut operated by Spectrum Healthcare. Along with the contractand reinstatement of all employees, Spectrum agreed to pay $545,000 inbackpay and pension benefits to employees who were harmed by theunfair labor practices, and to expunge any disciplinary records related tothe case. As a result, all NLRB charges against the company have beenwithdrawn. Spectrum admitted to no wrongdoing in the settlement.Complaints issued by the Hartford Regional Office alleged that,beginning in the fall of 2009, several months after the prior collectivebargaining agreement expired, Spectrum discharged seven employees andsuspended three others to retaliate against their union activities and todiscourage other employees from supporting the union. In addition, oneemployee was discharged and seven others were suspended afterSpectrum unilaterally changed its tardiness discipline policy without firstbargaining with the union. The complaints further alleged that in April2010, employees at the four nursing homes -- in Derby, Ansonia,Winsted, and Hartford -- went on strike to protest the unfair laborpractices. When the strikers offered unconditionally to return to work inlate August, Spectrum refused to take them back. Under federal labor law,if a strike is called because of an unfair labor practice, employees areentitled to reinstatement after an unconditional offer to return to work.Hartford Field Attorney Rick Concepcion investigated and litigated thecase for the Hartford Regional Office, and was instrumental in securingthe terms of the settlement.