Health Care Unions and CHI Franciscan reach agreement on worker safety and compensation

WSNA is working hard with our partners at UFCW 21 and SEIU 1199NW Healthcare to keep our members safe. Thanks to all our nurses who responded to our COVID-19 survey, filled out ADOs and contacted WSNA. We were able to take real time reports of your concerns directly to the management. We hope to reach similar resolutions like this one with other employers across the state to ensure the safety and well being of workers on the front lines. We need to take care of the nurses and frontline health care workers that take care of us.

DATED this 15th day of March, 2020:

The Washington State Nurses Association, SEIU 1199NW Healthcare Union, and United Food and Commercial Workers Union (Unions) and CHI Franciscan (Employer) hereby enter into the following Memorandum of Agreement in response to ongoing health concerns presented by the COVID-19 virus.

PRINCIPLES:

A. The parties share a mutual interest in assuring the health and safety of patients, clients, families, staff and the community.

B. Nurses and other healthcare workers are on the front lines in the delivery of essential health services to patients in need.

C. The decisions of all parties should be guided by the Center for Disease Control and other public health agencies.

D. The parties wish to work together to take reasonable steps to protect patients, clients, families and staff from unnecessary exposure to communicable diseases including COVID-19.

AGREEMENT:

1. A nurse or healthcare worker who the Employer does not permit to work due to exposure to Covid -19 disease while at work shall be placed in paid leave status during any required quarantine period. Paid leave status may be a combination of L&I Workers Compensation and employer paid administrative leave. The combination of which will ensure the employee will experience no loss of pay or accrued time off until such time as the Employer permits the employee to return to work. An employer representative will be available to assist employee with coordination of federal, state and employer benefits as may be applicable.

2. A nurse or healthcare worker who self-quarantines based on concern of social exposure to COVID-19 shall have access to extended illness bank on day 1 until the employee is able to return to work.

3. During the quarantine period described in both situations above, the healthcare worker is required to participate in the Employer’s monitoring process. If criteria is met to return the employee to work, in accordance with CDC guidelines, and the employee nonetheless refuses to return to work, the rights set forth in paragraphs 1 and 2 will no longer apply.

4. A nurse or healthcare worker who travels to a foreign country on the CDC’s high risk list, will need to be quarantined for 14 days when they return. EIB would not be applicable and the nurse or healthcare worker would need to use PTO or other benefits available under statutory rights.

5. A nurse or healthcare worker who is unable to work due to being part of the CDC’s at-risk group (older than 60 or with an underlying medical condition) may request an accommodation. If a workplace accommodation cannot be granted, the employee will be granted a leave of absence and have access to accrued time off benefits. If the employee's paid time off accruals exhaust during the leave, Employer will work on a case by case basis with the employee to ensure appropriate continuation of medical benefits until the employee is deemed eligible to return to work by the Employer.

6. When possible, telework or alternative assignments may be provided as an accommodation for nurses or healthcare workers who are in an at-risk group identified by CDC guidelines.

7. The Employer will provide all nurses or healthcare workers who have been exposed, such as treating a patient who was not confirmed, but later is to have COVID-19 with written notice within eight (8) hours of known exposure. The written notice will include: the date of exposure, assessment of exposure risk and Employer decision on whether to permit the nurse or healthcare worker to work or placed on paid leave.

8. Nothing in this agreement is intended to prevent employees from accessing other state benefits for which they may qualify, including but not limited to unemployment compensation insurance, paid family and medical leave, or workers compensation.

9. No less than weekly, the Employer will provide the Union with the number of its represented nurses or healthcare workers who have been exposed and the leave status of the employee.

10. Duration of this agreement is no later than when the Franciscan Regional Disaster Plan is inactivated.

Temporary Assignment Incentive - System-wide Labor Pool

March 15, 2020

In response to the developing COVID-19 situation across the south Sound, an incentive (“Temporary Assignment Incentive”) has been created to encourage employees in defined job classifications to volunteer for temporary assignments at other acute care CHI Franciscan locations experiencing staffing shortages (“Secondary Hospital”). The incentive will be in place through no later than when the Franciscan Regional Disaster Plan is inactivated.

An employee in an eligible position who volunteers and is assigned to a Secondary Hospital will be leased to the entity. Associated labor costs incurred while working at the Secondary Hospital will be paid by the hospital where the employee is employed (“Employer Hospital”) and charged back to the Secondary Hospital through a lease agreement process. The charge back will be invisible to the employee, who will experience no change in employer status, base pay, service credit, or other related terms of employment. Employees who volunteer for reassignment as described above will receive their regular rate of pay, plus Temporary Assignment Incentive, for all hours worked at the Secondary Hospital. All policies and CBA requirements relating to pay, premiums, and benefits covering the employee at the Employer Hospital remain in effect for the employee during their temporary assignment at the Secondary Hospital.

Unit manager approval from Employer Hospital is required before an employee is authorized to participate. The employee will be required to commit to a full week assignment at the Secondary Employer and will be removed from their regular schedule at Employer Hospital for the duration of the commitment. Employee will be guaranteed hours at no less than their regular FTE at the Secondary Hospital. The employee will receive mileage reimbursement for the number of miles traveled between their facility of employment and the Secondary Hospital where assigned. In the event the need for work at the Secondary Hospital diminishes during the commitment period, the employee will be returned to the schedule at their Employer Hospital without loss in hours.

Defined job classifications:

· ED RN

· PCU RN

· ICU RN

· Pharmacist

· CT Technologist

· Respiratory Therapist

· Telemetry Tech

· Certified Nursing Assistant

Assignment Incentive – paid in addition to base, regular rate of pay:

· RN - $10.00 per hour

· CT Tech - $10.00 per hour

· Respiratory Tech - $10.00 per hour

· Per diem RN; CT Tech or Respiratory Tech: 1.5x pay

· Telemetry Tech - $5.00 per hour

· CNA - $5.00 per hour

Pay Process for Temporary Incentive Payment:

1. An employee temporarily assigned to a Secondary Hospital will be unable to use the timeclock at the Secondary Hospital and must manually document all shifts worked on the Kronos paper Exception Log.

2. The KRONOS Exception Log entry must include shift date, in punch time, out punch time, number of hours for the applicable shift, and “Temporary Assignment Incentive” noted in the explanation/comments section.

3. The employee must send, scan or fax the exception log to their regular manager at their Employer Hospital by the Sunday immediately following their temporary assignment.

4. The local HR timekeeping department is responsible for processing all Temporary Assignment Incentives. The Temporary Assignment Incentive for FTE employees will be paid using the Shift Bonus $ pay code and will be visible in Kronos. For per diem RN’s the overtime pay will be processed in Kronos to generate the appropriate pay.

a. In departments that perform their own timekeeping, the manager and/or department editor will not have access to the pay code for Temporary Assignment Incentive. They must enter applicable shift and relevant edits for the on-loan employee and fax the approved Exception log to the local HR Timekeeper, who will apply the pay code and process the timecard.

b. In departments that utilize local HR Timekeeping services, the manager must approve/sign the exception log and fax it to the local HR department timekeeper for processing of all exception log entries.

Questions? Contact WSNA Nurse Representative Barbara Friesen at bfriesen@wsna.org or 206-575-7979, ext. 3056.