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Lawsuit filed against the NHWSB
By Toby Pearson | December 19, 2024 | All members
We are writing with another important update in the Long-Term Care Imperative’s (LTCI) ongoing legal action against the Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board (NHWSB). On December 10, 2024, we filed a motion seeking preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the holiday pay rule as passed by the NHWSB.
On December 13, 2024, the judge held a pre-hearing conference ahead of setting the date for a hearing. It was our hope that the judge would schedule a hearing on our motion ahead of January 1, 2025. Unfortunately, during the pre-hearing conference on the 13th, the judge informed the parties that she will not hold a hearing before January 1, 2025.
Our legal counsel did push back and told the judge that we, the plaintiffs, would be willing to make any date work before December 31st, but the judge still declined. As a federal judge, she has a right to schedule hearings in accordance with her schedule. The earliest date the judge can accommodate is Tuesday, January 14, 2025, so we accepted that date. While this is not ideal, it does provide clarity on how to ensure compliance with the holiday pay rule ahead of January 1. Below, we’ve outlined the rule’s key steps:
- Nursing facilities must implement holiday pay by January 1, 2025—the first set of holidays under the rule are: Jan. 1 (New Year’s Day), Jan. 20 (MLK Jr. Day), and Feb. 17 (President’s Day)
- Impacts all nursing facility workers as defined by the statute and rules, effective for Calendar Year 2025
- The rule includes 11 holidays based on official state holidays
- For nursing facility employees who work on a holiday and in a nursing facility, they are paid “time-and-one-half” of employee’s regular rate
- Each holiday is 24 hours in length from midnight to midnight on the date listed
- Important: Holiday pay only applies for employees working on respective holiday. For example: If an employee does not work on Jan. 1, 2025 (New Year’s Day), that individual is not entitled to holiday pay under the rule
- Additionally, the holiday pay rule only requires payment of holiday pay for nursing home employees who work in the nursing facility and not other parts of the setting or other licensures such as assisted living
- Nursing facilities must provide notice in each work site or provide a paper or electronic copy to employees
The Department of Labor has developed a
notice template that complies with the notice requirements
The LTCI will be hosting a webinar with our legal counsel on Monday, December 23, 2024, from 2:00–3:00 PM.
To register, click here. During this webinar, we will provide an overview of what nursing facilities must do to ensure compliance with the holiday pay rule.
In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact Toby Pearson at the Association office.
Toby Pearson | President & CEO | tpearson@careproviders.org | 952-851-2487