The article below is a top story from this week's ACTION newsletter—Care Providers of Minnesota's weekly newsletter for members. The newsletter focuses on current legislative issues, regulations, long-term care trends, and other Association news. Each Thursday evening, it is delivered to your inbox. To sign up for ACTION, contact Lisa Foss Olson (952-851-2483). To learn more about membership, visit our Become a Member page.
Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board ongoing legal action update
By Toby Pearson | January 17, 2025 | All members
The following is this week’s update on our ongoing legal action against the Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board (NHWSB). On Friday, January 10, 2025, our legal counsel notified us that after reviewing our amended complaint filed earlier in the week, which included descriptions of additional harms experienced by members from the Holiday Pay Rule, the judge indicated she wanted more time to review those harms.
Therefore, the hearing that was previously scheduled for Tuesday, January 14, 2025, was canceled. It was converted into a “status conference” between the attorneys and the judge. As a result of the status conference, the parties agreed to the new hearing date of February 20
th.
Second, this also means that a court decision to temporarily halt the entire holiday pay rule is unlikely to occur before the second holiday on Monday, January 20, 2025 (MLK, Jr. Day). Therefore, you should be prepared to comply with the requirements pertaining to the holiday pay rule and notice posting requirements.
We still believe we have a strong legal position, and despite this minor setback, are confident in the merits of our case. We took the opportunity to demonstrate harm caused to our members by the holiday pay rule, and importantly, the judge is now looking for more information with respect to the seriousness of this harm. Our legal counsel feels that additional member sworn statements indicating the harm they have experienced will be very helpful for the court’s understanding.
We will know more in the coming days, but in the meantime, should you wish to submit an affidavit and haven’t already contacted us to learn more about what it means to submit an affidavit, or if you have any questions, please contact Toby Pearson, president/CEO, Care Providers of Minnesota, at:
tpearson@careproviders.org or 952-851-2487.
Toby Pearson | President/CEO | tpearson@careproviders.org | 952-851-2480