Latest news with #JamieGulley
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Judge dismisses lawsuit challenging state-mandated holiday pay for nursing home workers
Getty Images. In a victory for Minnesota's new Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by two industry groups challenging the board's authority to mandate that nursing homes pay workers time-and-a-half on 11 holidays. The lawsuit was the first legal challenge to the board since the Legislature created it in 2023 to set minimum pay and working standards for nursing home workers across the state. The board — comprising three worker representatives, three state government officials and three industry leaders — voted last year to guarantee workers 11 paid holidays starting this year, as well as minimum wages starting Jan. 1. The three nursing home representatives abstained from voting for or against the minimum wage and holiday rules. The nursing home associations — LeadingAge Minnesota and Care Providers of Minnesota — argued in their lawsuit that the holiday pay rule is illegal because it forces nursing homes to violate workers' rights to collectively bargain under the National Labor Relations Act. The argument was curious coming from associations representing employers. Federal District Court Judge Laura Provinzino wrote in her opinion on Friday that it wasn't even clear that the two associations could assert rights on behalf of employees when they represent the employers. Moreover, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa, a union representing thousands of nursing home workers, fully supported the board's rules. The union was a driving force behind the board's creation in order to raise standards for union and non-union workers alike, and its president, Jamie Gulley, serves on the board. LeadingAge and Care Providers also argued that the holiday pay mandate hurt nursing homes by costing them hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in some cases. 'The fact that the industry had money to fund this failed lawsuit but continues to tell their workers 'no' so often when they ask for better pay and benefits showcases how much change is still needed,' Rasha Ahmad Sharif, executive vice president of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa, said in a statement celebrating the judge's decision. The associations' arguments centered on a provision in the rule that allows nursing homes to swap out four of the holidays specified in the rule for alternative dates if approved by the majority of employees. The nursing home groups argued this violated employees rights by forcing them to engage in collective bargaining and because the process would allow nursing home managers to 'dominate' the voting process. The judge rejected those arguments, ruling that voting on paid holidays doesn't constitute collective bargaining. 'The rule does nothing more than create a new minimum labor standard,' the judge wrote. In a statement, the groups said they were disappointed in the judge's ruling and considering an appeal. 'This ruling creates even more regulatory challenges for Minnesota's senior care centers at a time when the need for our services is growing,' the statement said. The minimum wages set by the Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board are on track to take effect next year, as the Legislature appears ready to approve additional funding to underwrite the raises. Republicans have looked to eliminate the board and give nursing home leaders more power in setting rules, but those efforts failed to gain traction in the divided Legislature. Labor leaders and their DFL allies sought to set up the board as a model for employer-worker relations in an industry that survives on government funding via Medicaid. Nursing home workers are entitled to time-and-a-half pay for working during the following holidays: New Year's Day Martin Luther King Jr. Day Presidents' Day Memorial Day Juneteenth Independence Day Labor Day Indigenous Peoples Day Veterans Day Thanksgiving Christmas Nursing home workers will be guaranteed the following minimum hourly wages in 2026: Certified nursing assistants: $22.50 Trained medication aides: $23.50 Licensed practical nurses: $27 All other workers: $19 Hourly wages will increase $1.50 in 2027
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Pay raises for nursing home workers passes Minnesota House with bipartisan support
Getty images. Thousands of nursing home workers across Minnesota would see a significant pay increase on Jan. 1 under a bill that easily passed the state House 109-25 on Monday. The measure still needs Senate approval and the signature of Gov. Tim Walz. The House human services budget bill includes funding for nursing homes to pay for increased minimum wage rates set by the state's Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board last year. Beginning in 2026, certified nursing assistants would earn at least $22.50 an hour, trained medication aides at least $24.50 an hour and licensed practical nurses at least $27 an hour, under the bill. All other nursing home workers would earn at least $19 an hour. The minimum wages would increase $1.50 per hour across job titles on Jan. 1, 2027. Funding for the minimum rates, if agreed to by the governor and Senate, would raise pay $2 an hour on average for workers earning less than the minimum, according to a fiscal analysis by the Department of Human Services. Labor advocates say the raises will help increase retention and reward workers for caring for the state's sick and elderly. Democrats created the labor standards board in 2023 and gave it broad authority to regulate working conditions in nursing homes, including minimum pay. Pay raises are contingent on funding from the Legislature, however, which made Monday's vote a critical hurdle to pass. 'It's a big win for workers, and we appreciate that the bill passed with bipartisan support,' said Jamie Gulley, a worker representative on the Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board and president of the union SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa. Gulley, whose union represents nursing home workers and advocated for the board's creation, said the board is critical to ensuring workers are fairly compensated for the work that is largely funded by taxpayers through Medicaid. He noted reimbursement rates for nursing homes have doubled in the past decade while wages for workers have not. Walz and the Democratic-controlled Senate have also proposed additional funding to pay for the raises, which are estimated to cost the state between $9 million and $15 million. Nursing home industry groups similarly welcomed the vote by the House, while voicing their ongoing opposition to the existence of the labor board. 'Minnesota is the only state in the nation with such a board, and without adequate funding, its mandates would have pushed many providers to the brink,' Toby Pearson, CEO of Care Providers of Minnesota, said in a statement on behalf of the nursing home industry group Long Term Care Imperative. The Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board comprises equal numbers of workers, nursing home representatives and state officials. All three industry officials abstained from voting on the pay raises last year. They also abstained from voting on a rule guaranteeing workers 11 paid holidays, which nursing home industry groups are challenging in court. They say the rule interferes with collective bargaining with unions and could be financially ruinous to some nursing homes. During the floor debate on Monday, House Republicans introduced amendments to make the labor standards board more favorable to nursing home leaders and limit its power but failed to win any Democratic support. The efforts failed 67-67. Twenty-four Republicans and one Democrat — Rep. Kim Hicks, DFL-Rochester — ultimately voted against the human services budget bill, which includes significant cuts as state lawmakers stare down a forecasted deficit in future years.
