Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West is suing a California hospital, alleging the facility laid off employees instead of complying with a new city minimum pay law, according to mynewsla.com.
The union filed the complaint April 11 against Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood, Calif., part of Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare.
Union members allege in Los Angeles Superior Court that the hospital violated a new city law that established a $25 minimum hourly wage for workers at private healthcare facilities. The issue was on the November ballot for Inglewood, and city voters passed the law.
Centinela Hospital, in a statement shared with Becker's, said it takes its responsibility to comply with city law seriously and has fully complied at all times.
The union's lawsuit states that the hospital, instead of complying with the city law, laid off 48 workers March 31 after previously reducing work hours of various others, according to mynewsla.com.
Specifically, the lawsuit states that employees were told the layoffs were a result of a decrease in the number of patients, but that total hospitalizations remained relatively level and even increased some, the publication reported.
"The much more logical and likely explanation for the layoffs … is that defendants are funding the cost of increased wages for the rest of its workforce by laying off an unlucky group," the suit states, according to mylanews.com. "This is clearly prohibited by the ordinance."
The hospital said the layoffs were "unrelated to the ordinance and impacted fewer than 4 percent of the workforce. Additionally, Centinela Hospital provided impacted employees alternate positions. We are unable to comment further due to pending litigation."
The lawsuit seeks reinstatement of the laid-off employees with back wages and interest.