Court rejects Nurses Association request for reverse Boys Market injunction requiring hospital to provide ppe and other Covid related safety measures

The District Court for the Southern District of New York rejected the request of the New York State Nurses Association for a reverse Boys Market injunction seeking to compel Montefiore Medical Center to take certain steps to mitigate the risk that nurses might contract Covid-19 while the Union's grievance was pending. The New York State Nurses Association v. Montefiore Medical Center.

The Union sought, inter alia, to have the Medical Center provide PPE, space to don and doff such equipment, and "adequate" coronavirus testing. A copy of the Union's complaint for injuntive relief is available here.

Noting how narrow the reverse Boys Market exception is to the Norris LaGuardia limitation on injunctions in labor disputes, the Court found it was without jurisdiction to grant the requested injunction. It agreed with the position of the Medical Center that the requested injunction "does not seek to preserve the status quo. Instead, it 'seeks to create a new status quo that gives the Union everything (and more) it requests in the grievance.' "

While denying the request, the Court encouraged the parties to attempt to resolve the dispute quickly:

The Court does so with a plea to both sides to continue their efforts in good faith to reach an amicable resolution of their disputes. Both sides presumably share the ultimate goal of maximizing protections for healthcare workers on the front lines of the battle against a vicious disease without compromising patient care. And the parties are plainly in a better position than either the Court or an arbitrator to find the best ways to achieve that goal despite limited resources and ever changing circumstances. Failing an amicable resolution, the Court hopes that the parties can and will expedite the arbitration proceedings. This Court may lack authority to address NYSNA's concerns, but to the extent these concerns are valid, it is critical that they be addressed as swiftly as possible. Lives may hang in the balance, and the NYSNA nurses deserve as much.