The New York State Department of Labor is asking St. Vincent's Hospital to pay $50 million to hospital workers who lost their jobs earlier this year, claiming the hospital violated a state law governing mass layoffs when it closed its doors in April 2010, according to a Crain's New York Business report.
If the New York DOL is successful, the hospital would pay $48.8 million for allegedly violating the New York State Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which requires employers to give 90 days of notice to workers before a mass layoff.
St. Vincent's Hospital lawyers say the state assisted the closure, as the hospital worked closely with the Department of Health and governor's office, and that the hospital does not meet the definition of a "business enterprise" or "employer" subject to WARN notice, in part because it was in liquidation.
Read the Crain's New York Business report on St. Vincent's Hospital (subscription required).
Read more on hospital layoffs:
-5 Hospitals and Health Systems Planning Job Cuts
-Massachusetts' Cooley Dickinson Hospital to Cut 60 Jobs
If the New York DOL is successful, the hospital would pay $48.8 million for allegedly violating the New York State Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which requires employers to give 90 days of notice to workers before a mass layoff.
St. Vincent's Hospital lawyers say the state assisted the closure, as the hospital worked closely with the Department of Health and governor's office, and that the hospital does not meet the definition of a "business enterprise" or "employer" subject to WARN notice, in part because it was in liquidation.
Read the Crain's New York Business report on St. Vincent's Hospital (subscription required).
Read more on hospital layoffs:
-5 Hospitals and Health Systems Planning Job Cuts
-Massachusetts' Cooley Dickinson Hospital to Cut 60 Jobs