Whether it is the enforcement of non-compete agreements, opposition to the unionization of the nursing labor force or litigation of medical staff claims, health care providers face labor and employment issues that are unique to the medical industry. At Baker Donelson, our nationally-ranked health care attorneys team up with our seasoned labor and employment lawyers to create a dedicated team for advising and defending health care employers in the management of their work force. Baker Donelson's Health Care Labor & Employment Industry Service Team regularly counsels health care employers on strategies for litigation avoidance and compliance with federal and state labor and employment laws.
Our lawyers have extensive experience drafting and interpreting contracts between health care companies and professionals, including physician employment agreements, non-compete agreements, medical director agreements, exclusive provider agreements, coverage agreements and physician recruitment agreements. By drawing on the combined talents of the Firm's employment attorneys and its health care lawyers, our clients are assured that their contracts comply with the requirements of the federal and state fraud and abuse laws, Medicare's prohibitions on reassignment and other statutory and regulatory challenges unique to health care companies.
Baker Donelson's health care labor and employment knowledge extends to the traditional labor front, where unions are increasingly targeting health care employers with organizing efforts. For example, our lawyers have represented a national renal care provider before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Washington, D.C. in a dispute stemming from a union organizing campaign that involved cutting-edge legal issues. We regularly provide valuable guidance to our health care clients on how to minimize the threat of union organizing activity.
Our attorneys are attuned to the needs of health care employers in specialized sectors of the industry, as well. We regularly help tax-exempt health care organizations avoid the pitfalls presented by the prohibitions against private inurement when they hire executives. We also have the know-how to help teaching hospitals handle the challenges arising from the NLRB's ruling that medical residents are employees for purposes of the National Labor Relations Act and from the standards announced by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education that prohibits residents from working more than 80 hours per week.
We regularly assist health care employers with the preparation of personnel policies and procedures with special attention to the regulatory issues they face. When litigation arises, our employment attorneys are skilled at defending health care employers against employment discrimination lawsuits in state and federal court, as well as against claims brought before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal Department of Labor and state and local agencies.
National Employment Counsel Experience
We are national employment counsel to a large renal care company with operations in more than 20 states. Our employment attorneys have defended this client against various employment discrimination claims and lawsuits; represented it in disputes relating to executive employment agreements, non-competes and other restrictive covenants; provided day-to-day human resources counseling to corporate and regional human resources managers; drafted personnel policies; provided counseling related to the disciplining and termination of employees; and drafted and assisted with the administration of a drug testing policy that complies with applicable laws in every state where the employer has operations.
We have served as national counsel for a physician-oriented dialysis company, providing advice and counsel on general employment and labor laws, wage and hour compliance, defense of employment claims in federal court and before administrative agencies, preparation of executive employment contracts and enforcement of non-competes.
Baker Donelson also serves as national employment counsel to a large, public company manufacturer of both generic and brand-name pharmaceuticals. In addition to having successfully represented the client in employment matters before the EEOC and state equivalent agencies across the country and in federal district courts, we provide constant employment policy guidance, including a formal handbook review and revision; written Affirmative Action Plans; ongoing ERISA compliance guidance, including drafting summary plan descriptions and ERISA policies; management on workplace harassment, insider trading and union avoidance.; assist in developing a plan for reductions in force at the client's facilities nationwide, including drafting and presenting specific severance agreements; conduct specific investigations based on employee complaints of harassment; and provide guidance and consultation regarding a host of other labor and employment issues.
Compliance Advice
Our attorneys provide employment compliance advice to hospitals, doctors' groups, long-term health providers and other health care providers on a variety of issues, including wage and hour, employee termination, disability, family and medical leave, hiring, drug testing and background checks.
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Advised medical supply company on blood-borne pathogens regulation requirement concerning needle stick injuries and new technologies available in the market.
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Provided advice regarding employee termination/discipline to nursing home staffing company.
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Prepared executive employment contracts, defended EEOC claims, advised on drug testing legal compliance and provided general employment law counseling to urology physician practice management company.
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Represented large group of orthopedic physicians on a variety of employment issues; prepared various employment policies; litigated discrimination claims and provided compliance advice on employment issues.
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Provided general counseling on employment matters to nonprofit organization that is a recognized leader among providers and physicians in designing and implementing health care quality improvement programs.
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Provided general counseling on employment matters and employee handbooks to Mississippi-based organ recovery center.
Employment Policies and Handbooks
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We prepare various employment policies and handbooks for doctors' groups and other health care providers on a regular basis.
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Provided general employment advice regarding workplace policies and procedures to large physician clinic in Louisiana.
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Prepared executive employment contracts and provided employment law counseling to company that provides data system solutions to health care providers, payors and large self-insured clients.
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Provided employment law counseling for nurse practitioner service.
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Prepared executive employment contracts for southern regional health system.
Defense of Employment Claims
Our employment attorneys in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Washington, D.C. have successfully defended numerous discrimination claims and lawsuits brought by current and former employees of health care companies. We represent health care clients in administrative actions across the United States, including cases and actions involving alleged discrimination on the basis of age, religion, race, disability, sex and retaliation.
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Successfully represented medical executive committee of large hospital in peer review hearing brought by physician whose hospital privileges were suspended for sexually-harassing hospital employee.
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Represented large physician clinic in successful arbitration brought by physician challenging the termination of his employment agreement for quality of care concerns.
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Defended multiple EEOC charges and provided general employment law counseling to a variety of employers, including a multi-location ear, nose and throat medical practice and a Nashville-based medical practice.
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Defended religion-based weight loss program in religious discrimination lawsuits filed by employees in state and federal court.
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Handled two wrongful termination matters for independent group of cardiology physicians.
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Litigated a variety of employment claims including age, race, sex, religion and reprisal discrimination for long-term health care provider.
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Handled physician/staff employment issues and contract disputes for not-for-profit private medical practice.
ERISA Compliance and Litigation
Our benefits attorneys also counsel health care companies on ERISA compliance and benefit plan administration issues. In 2003, our trial attorneys completed the successful representation of more than 30,000 former employees in an ERISA lawsuit to determine which of two groups of former employees of a health care company was entitled to more than $250 million in disputed assets from an employee stock ownership plan. (The health care company interplead the disputed assets into court and was not an adverse party.)
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Performed ERISA work for pediatric physicians group and for minor medical physicians group.
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Prepared ERISA documents for not-for-profit private medical practice.
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Provided general employment counseling to and prepared ERISA documents for renal care foundation.
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Defended cardiologist group against ERISA claims brought by two former physician members of the practice.
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Provided advice regarding ERISA matters to private physicians group and to vision correction industry leader.
Immigration
Our immigration attorneys assist several large health care companies in securing work visas for nurses immigrating from overseas and other such immigration issues, such as for a major nursing home company, a children's hospital and a national renal care company. We have also handled labor certification matters for a nationwide insurance provider and for a provider of life event management services.
OSHA
We regularly advise and assist a national supplier of medical equipment, a vision correction industry leader and other companies with their OSHA compliance needs.
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Advised physician group on compliant safety and health procedures and programs.
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Advised a renal disease management company on risks and benefits of entering into a settlement agreement with OSHA.
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Represented surgical center in TOSHA contest concerning same citation (blood borne pathogens) issued at multiple locations, resulting in Repeat Violation (seven-fold penalties).
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Represented hospital in response to employee complaint made to TOSHA concerning employee exposure to ethylene oxide. Response resulted in no citation being issued.
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Worked with companies and manufacturers, that have nurse stations at their plants, advising the nurses on the OSHA 300 Log for recording injuries/illnesses and needle stick injuries.
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Advised a Tennessee-based hospital on environmental, safety and health matters relating to asbestos and hospital renovation.
Wage and Hour
Our attorneys have worked with home-health care clients on wage and hour issues pertaining to pay of employees making home patient visits. We also have defended health care clients on wage and hour claims and audits.
Labor
Baker Donelson attorneys have proven success assisting health care employers to resist union organizing activities and to negotiate successfully with existing unions.
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We represented a national renal care company when Local 1199J, AFSME, AFL-CIO filed a petition with the NLRB seeking to represent registered nurses and patient care technicians in a combined bargaining unit. Following the election, the ballots were impounded with no count to date. This is due to our pending request for review of the decision by the Newark NLRB Regional Director that the registered nurses are "employees" rather than "supervisors" based on their job responsibilities, including their status as part-time charge nurses during certain portions of their shifts.
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Provided counsel for one of a national dialysis company's clinics in Newark, New Jersey, both in proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board and in orchestration of a counter-campaign in circumstances where Hospital Workers Union, District 1199N, sought representation of the clinic's RNs and patient care technicians in early December 2001. Our attorneys' argument that the clinic's RNs must be excluded from the unit as supervisors remains pending before the NLRB, as it raised significant policy issues for the health care industry. The contested ballots will not be opened, if at all, until the NLRB rules on this substantial issue.
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Assisted a Kansas hospital resist an organizing effort targeting the facility's nurses by IUOE Local 123.
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Advised a hospital corporation in the possible purchase of a group of unionized hospitals in Ohio. Analyzed the union contracts and advised client on the law regarding successor employers assuming a seller's union contracts.
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Negotiated a renewal labor agreement for health care client.
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Appeared at NLRB hearings on issues including inter alia the supervisory versus employee status of charge nurses and subsequent litigation of this issue.
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Conducted and managed counter-campaigns to defeat union organizational efforts at health care facilities.
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Conducted supervisory and management training for health care employees on union avoidance strategies.