Howard Brown Health, a key healthcare nonprofit operating across Oak Park and Chicago, has been directed to cough up $1.3 million total in settlement funds, following a tidal wave of unfair labor practice charges that culminated in a hear-me-roar legal settlement brokered by Region 13-Chicago. The accord, pinpointing a series of alleged labor violations ranging from employee intimidation to direct negotiation with personnel circumventing union protocols, signifies a substantial victory for the embattled staffers represented by the Illinois Nurses Association.
Charges that were levied back in March by the National Labor Relations Board's Regional Director spelled out Howard Brown Health's string of contested behaviors that failed to respect the sanctity of unionized labor procedures, leading to approximately 55 employees laid off without rightful bargaining with the union, a move that has since been reversed by the comprehensive settlement terms which stipulate not only monetary compensation but also reinstatement offers for those affected, insisting on the necessity that the nonprofit must also desist from any further violation of bargaining norms and from poking its nose into protected employee activities.
As a part of the settlement, which was dug up and made public by the National Labor Relations Board, Howard Brown Health is shouldering the accountability to patch up the financial gaps torn open by the abrupt layoffs, with $1 million earmarked for back pay, $48,000 to patch up employee 401(k) losses, and an additional $60,000 reserved to cushion any other observable financial blows victims may have weathered due to the job cuts. Also, it sets in stone the expectation for Howard Brown Health to thrust a notice to its employees about the settlement, reminding all of the prevailing labor laws that stand to protect them.
Region 13's Regional Director Angie Cowan Hamada, didn't mince words when giving the settlement her nod of approval—her praise for the vigorous investigative efforts deployed by Region 13 staff was as clear as day, noting that the outcome will "ensure that employees are able to fully and freely exercise their rights to join together and collectively bargain and therefore serves to effectuate the National Labor Relations Act", as reported by the official press release.
