A regional director with the National Labor Relations Board has issued a complaint alleging Shore Medical Center in Somers Point, N.J., took unfair actions against nurses during contract negotiations, NJ Advance Media reports.
The complaint accuses the medical center of "unlawfully locking out nurses for three days" around the time of a strike last November, according to the report. It is now in the hands of an NLRB administrative law judge, who will decide whether to discipline the hospital or dismiss the complaint.
"We have a great relationship with our nurses and have tremendous respect for the work they do," Shore Medical Center spokesperson Brian Cahill said in a statement provided to Becker's Hospital Review. "We are confident that the National Labor Relations Board will rule on our behalf."
The New York State Nurses Association, which represents Shore Medical Center nurses, said in a statement cited by NJ Advance Media that nurses were locked out and prevented from working at the hospital during contract negotiations last year. The union alleges the hospital took unfair actions against nurses, including interrogation and wrongful discipline, and it now reportedly seeks back pay for them.
"Shore management has been engaging in distasteful tactics throughout this process to break our spirit and gut our contract," Dottie Rudert, executive committee president for the New York State Nurses Association, said in the union's statement. "They now face these strong charges from the NLRB and nurses with strong resolve to win for our patients and our contract."
A hearing date for the NLRB complaint has not been set.