Hospital strikes: complying with NLRA notice requirements

Section 8(g) of the National Labor Relations Act, added in the 1974 amendments to the Act, requires a labor organization to give an employer in the health-care field ten days' notice of an intended strike or picketing. The purpose is to allow the health-care employer time to make arrangements to ensure the continuation of health-care services to critically ill patients. Failure of a union to give this notice constitutes a violation of the Act, and individuals who engaged in the activity may, as a result, lose their status as employees under the Act. In the following article, the authors examine the requirements of section 8(g) and the case law interpreting this statute. They suggest likely future interpretations of this law and make practical suggestions for responding to strikes in the health-care setting.