In 2024, healthcare employers have faced several new challenges and developments regarding traditional labor obligations. Unions are becoming more prominent in healthcare, including by unionizing doctors at unprecedented rates and by becoming more involved in government-funded projects. At the same time, federal agencies are imposing significant new labor obligations on healthcare employers, regardless of whether … Continue Reading
For healthcare providers and practitioners, the rules surrounding non-competition agreements have evolved rapidly over the last two years, and that evolution accelerated even more this month. Over the past 18 months, states and the federal government enacted several new laws that substantially limit when healthcare entities can enforce non-competes. Then, on April 24, the Federal … Continue Reading
When healthcare entities are seeking to expand their operations, they often will find interesting targets who have union-represented employees. A union’s presence will create additional compliance obligations but, contrary to common misconceptions, union-related obligations are not necessarily unmanageable. In a recent case, which arose after new owners took over a skilled nursing home facility, the … Continue Reading
The “joint employer” doctrine affects healthcare as much as nearly any industry. Healthcare entities frequently rely on outside labor to meet their objectives, such as by contracting with specialty medical providers, hiring temporary administrative staff to fill short-term vacancies, using outside vendors for routine custodial work and maintenance, or through myriad other relationships. In this … Continue Reading
Mergers, acquisitions, and sales can be a common event for health systems. These types of deals involve many moving parts, from both legal and operational perspectives. Given how complex deals can become, it can be easy to overlook obligations to labor unions when they arise. One recent National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) decision illustrates a … Continue Reading