In a decision which overturns some 20 years of legal precedent, the National Labor Relations Board just ruled that interns and residents at Boston Medical Center are "Employees" within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA"). As "Employees," interns and residents will now be afforded the legal right to unionize under the NLRA. Under the Board's previous rulings, interns and residents were deemed to be students (and not employees) and therefore were not given rights under the NRLA.
Although it is likely that this decision will be the subject of further legal review by the courts, the decision raises a number of immediate concerns for healthcare managers, including:
- This decision has already become a rallying cry by unions who are active in healthcare organizing claiming that it will open the door for thousands of additional healthcare workers to be unionized.
- Adds fuel to the already burning issue of physician unionization.
- Will create an intense examination of the entire system of physician training in the United States.
- Place additional cost burdens on the healthcare system as interns and residents collectively fight for lower hours and higher pay and seek to modify other terms and conditions of their program.
As a result of this decision, every healthcare organization employing or utilizing interns, residents or fellows should carefully reexamine its labor relations and vulnerability to unionization at all levels. There are measures that can and should be taken to evaluate your organization's vulnerabilities. Every hospital, even those who do not utilize interns and residents, should have programs in place which will reduce your organization's susceptibility to unionization at all levels of the organization.
The attorneys of the Labor and Employment Law Section in conjunction with those in the Healthcare Section are ready to assist you in dealing with these issues.