Injunction against Marin General labor rally partially invalid, court rules

A state appeals court has partially invalidated a preliminary injunction granted to Greenbrae, Calif.-based Marin General Hospital related to a 2019 strike by imaging technicians and engineers, according to the Marin Independent Journal.

Marin County Superior Court Judge Stephen Freccero granted the injunction to the hospital, now called MarinHealth Medical Center, on Feb. 8, 2019, in response to a hospital complaint.

The hospital sought the injunction to limit what it described as "raucous noise levels outside hospital buildings" during the strike. It also alleged union demonstrators were blocking people from entering and leaving the campus.

The union, International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 39, said its labor protest was lawful and denied blocking traffic, according to the Journal.

The union appealed to the 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco.

On May 7, 2020, the appeals court ruled that the injunction was a valid way to limit noise did not block the efforts of International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 39, the Journal reported.

But the court did conclude that the injunction is "overbroad and vague … in regulating noisemaking conduct within 1,000 feet of the hospital and in not specifying the point at which the decibel level must be measured."

According to the Journal, Justice Henry Needham also wrote there was not conclusive evidence that the union was unlawfully blocking traffic.

The injunction is now reportedly back with the Marin County Superior Court for modification, even though most of the points are now moot.

The hospital has already settled labor disputes with the workers over pay and benefits. However, the appeals court decision could be relevant to the union recovering legal fees, according to the Journal.

Representatives from the hospital and union did not immediately respond to Becker's Hospital Review's requests for comment.

Read the Journal's full report here.

 

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