October 4, 2006 -- Nurses Who Assign Duties Are Supervisors, Labor Board Rules

Nurses who exercise “independent judgment” when they assign “significant overall duties” to other employees are supervisors, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled October 3. The ruling would exempt registered nurses who supervise the work of others from union membership if they oversee other employees just 10 to 15 percent of their total worktime. The NLRB issued its ruling after the United States Supreme Court decided in 2001, in a case involving nurses in an acute care facility in Michigan, that the Labor Board had previously been too strict in deciding who is a supervisor. Labor experts predicted that yesterday’s ruling could affect as many as 8 million workers, possibly including teachers who supervise aides, as well as nurses. The ruling is onsite at http://www.nlrb.gov.