Four nurses and other medical employees who allege they were wrongfully fired from St. Francis Medical Center in 2023 for protesting unsafe and unhealthy conditions for patients will have their claims decided by an arbitrator rather than a jury, a judge has ruled.
The terminated workers comprised the entire bargaining team with SEIU- United Healthcare Workers West, which represents employees at the Lynwood facility, according to their Compton Superior Court retaliation suit.
On May 1, Judge Michael Shultz issued a final ruling in which he agreed with St. Francis lawyers that the plaintiffs were bound by their work agreements to arbitrate any employment disputes. The judge had heard arguments a day earlier and took the issues under submission.
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"Plaintiffs have not demonstrated that the arbitration provision is unenforceable," according to the judge, who also found that the terms of the arbitration agreement were not weighted in favor of the hospital or that the plaintiffs would be unfairly impacted in conducting discovery.
The judge put the case on hold and scheduled a post-arbitration status conference for Jan. 23, 2025.
In their court papers filed in advance of the April hearing, hospital attorneys stated that the nine plaintiffs were among about 50 St. Francis employees who picketed on a public sidewalk without any problems until they trespassed on private property and engaged in misconduct.
In their suit brought Jan. 10, the plaintiffs say they are health care workers employed by the hospital for terms ranging from three to nearly 30 years and dedicated their professional lives to ensuring quality patient care.
The plaintiffs further contend they have made tremendous sacrifices on behalf of patients and since the coronavirus pandemic have often worked more than 18-hour days because of staff shortages caused in part by layoffs made to save money.
The plaintiffs obtained letters of support from various public/government officials urging St. Francis to give priority to patient care and worker safety and to adopt a fair compensation and benefits package in the next collective bargaining agreement, the suit states.
The nine plaintiffs believe that the misconduct allegations against them that were used to justify their firings were an excuse for the hospital's real intentions, which was to retaliate against the former workers for their complaints.
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