National Labor Relations Board v. St. Francis Hospital of Lynwood, a Corporation

Pursuant to Section 10(e) of the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”), 29 U.S.C. § 180 (e), the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) seeks enforcement of a bargaining order entered against the St. Francis Hospital of Lynwood (the “Hospital”). The Board charged the Hospital with violations of Section 8(a)(1) and (5) of the Act, 29 U.S.C. § 158 (a)(1) and (5), for the latter’s refusal to bargain with the St. Francis Registered Nurses Association, United Nurses Associations of California (the “Union”), which had been certified by the Board as the exclusive representative of a bargaining unit consisting of purportedly non-supervisory registered nurses. Three issues are raised in this case: (1) whether the Hearing Officer erred in refusing to admit evidence from the Hospital in support of a unit consisting of all professional employees rather than only registered nurses, his decision being subsequently affirmed and adopted by the Regional Director and the Board; (2) whether the Board acted arbitrarily and capriciously in its determination of the appropriate bargaining unit herein or whether its decision was unsupported by substantial evidence in the record taken as a whole;…