The National Labor Relations Board has ordered Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare Services to pay an estimated $6.5 million in lost wages to 500 employees at Encino (Calif.) Medical Center and Garden Grove (Calif.) Medical Center after refusing to issue the negotiated annual raises over each of the last five years.
The NLRB judge's ruling confirmed that Prime owed "anniversary" raises to employees at Encino Medical Center and Garden Grove Medical Center since 2011, as required in their negotiated contract with the SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West.
A regional NLRB judge had previously ruled in 2014 that Prime Healthcare violated the National Labor Relations Act by refusing to award Encino and Garden Grove workers raises on their employment anniversaries. Prime Healthcare appealed that decision to the full NLRB in Washington, D.C, which rejected the appeal.
Prime provided the following statement on the matter:
"Encino Hospital Medical Center is a not-for-profit member of the Prime Healthcare Foundation and its registered nurses have supported Prime Healthcare in our mission over the years. We value the work of all our staff and nurses and their commitment to providing exceptional patient care, and have provided wage and salary increases since this issue first arose years ago. Prime Healthcare disagrees with the NLRB’s decision. We plan to appeal this decision to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals."