SENATE, No. 315

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

220th LEGISLATURE

 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2022 SESSION

 


 

Sponsored by:

Senator  JOSEPH F. VITALE

District 19 (Middlesex)

Senator  RICHARD J. CODEY

District 27 (Essex and Morris)

 

Co-Sponsored by:

Senators Diegnan, Gopal and Stack

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Requires contracts for sale of certain health care entities to preserve employee wages and benefits and to honor collective bargaining agreements.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.

  


An Act concerning health care entities and collective bargaining and supplementing chapter 12 of Title 34 of the Revised Statutes.

 

     Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1.    a.  As used in this section, "health care entity" means a health care facility licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.), a staffing registry, or a home care services agency as defined in section 1 of P.L.1947, c.262 (C.45:11-23).

     b.    Any contract or agreement that provides for the sale or transfer of ownership or control of a health care entity shall provide:

     (1)   if employees of the health care entity are covered by an unexpired collective bargaining agreement, that the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement shall remain in effect until the existing expiration date of the agreement or a date six months after the full effectuation of the sale or transfer, whichever is later; and

     (2)   that the wages and benefits, including health care, paid time off, retirement, and education benefits, of non-managerial employees of the health care entity who are not covered by an unexpired collective bargaining agreement shall not be reduced or diminished during the period ending six months after the full effectuation of the sale or transfer.

     c.     All parties to a contract or agreement covered by this section, and all health care entities sold or transferred pursuant to a contract or agreement covered by this section, shall comply with all provisions that are required by this section to be included in the contract or agreement pursuant to subsection b. of this section, regardless of whether those provisions are expressly included in the contract or agreement.

     d.    Notwithstanding the foregoing, action taken pursuant to and in compliance with a collective bargaining agreement entered into by an exclusive representative of employees of a health care entity sold or transferred pursuant to a contract or agreement covered by this section shall not be considered a violation of this section.

     e.     An employee who has been affected by a violation of this section may bring an action in any court of competent jurisdiction against any party to a contract or agreement covered by this section and any health care entity sold or transferred pursuant to a contract or agreement covered by this section for violation of any obligation imposed by this section. The court shall have authority to order injunctive relief to prevent or remedy a violation of any obligation imposed by this section. If the court finds that, by reason of a violation of any obligation imposed by this section, a plaintiff has suffered a loss of wages or benefits, the court shall award back pay for all losses of wages and benefit pay, the costs of benefits the health care entity or other defendant would have incurred for benefits lost by the plaintiff, expenses incurred by the plaintiff as a result of the lost benefits, and an amount equal to back pay as liquidated damages.

     f.     The court shall award a plaintiff prevailing in an action brought pursuant to subsection e. of this section reasonable attorneys’ fees.

 

     2.    This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to contracts or agreements for the sale or transfer of health care entities entered into on or after the effective date of this act.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     This bill provides that contracts or agreements for the sale or transfer of a health care entity will not affect the wages, benefits, or terms of a collective bargaining agreement in place for a certain period following the sale or transfer.  As used in the bill, "health care entity" means a licensed health care facility, a staffing registry, or a home care services agency.

      Specifically, the bill provides that any contract or agreement that provides for the sale or transfer of ownership or control of a health care entity will provide:

      1)   if employees of the health care entity are covered by an unexpired collective bargaining agreement, that the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement will remain in effect until the existing expiration date of the agreement or a date six months after the full effectuation of the sale or transfer, whichever is later; and

      2)   that the wages and benefits, including health care, paid time off, retirement, and education benefits, of non-managerial employees of the health care entity who are not covered by an unexpired collective bargaining agreement will not be reduced or diminished during the period ending six months after the full effectuation of the sale or transfer.

      All parties to a contract or agreement for the sale or transfer of a health care entity will be required to comply with all provisions that are required under the bill to be included in the contract or agreement, regardless of whether those provisions are expressly included in the contract or agreement.

      Action taken pursuant to and in compliance with a collective bargaining agreement entered into by an exclusive representative of employees of a health care entity sold or transferred pursuant to a contract or agreement to which the bill applies will not be considered a violation of the requirements of the bill.

      An employee who has been affected by a violation of the requirements of the bill may bring an action in any court of competent jurisdiction against any party to a contract or agreement that is subject to the requirements of the bill, including a health care entity that is being sold or transferred pursuant to the contract or agreement. The court may order injunctive relief to prevent or remedy a violation of the requirements of the bill and, if the court finds the plaintiff suffered a loss of wages or benefits, the court is to award back pay for all losses of wages and benefit pay, the costs of benefits the health care entity or other defendant would have incurred for benefits lost by the plaintiff, expenses incurred by the plaintiff as a result of the lost benefits, and an amount equal to back pay as liquidated damages.  Courts are also to award a prevailing plaintiff reasonable attorneys’ fees.

      The bill will take effect immediately and apply to contracts or agreements for the sale or transfer of health care entities entered into on or after the effective date of the bill.