Local 5147 Update on NLRB Settlement with MHA
If you haven’t already heard:
The NLRB has begun to distribute the money to members eligible for a portion of the settlement.
Neither HPAE, nor the NLRB Regional Office in Newark, were given advance notification that payments were finally being issued. We learned about it when members reported receiving checks over the weekend of February 3.
If you have not yet received a check or direct deposit, DO NOT PANIC. The payments are being processed in batches. For the NLRB to process any payments, they needed the Recipient Information Forms that we have been assisting in collecting since the summer of 2020. Whether you submitted the form directly to the NLRB or with HPAE’s assistance, you should be in one of these first batches.
The NLRB began sending requests for payment to the Washington DC office that disperses money last summer and it has taken at least 6 months for the first payments to be issued. They have not shared with us any lists of who is in which batch and when these batches were sent to DC. We were told that they were sending the last batch of requests for payment for those who have completed the form last week – we do not know if this included people who submitted forms before last summer or are made up of people who have submitted them recently. So, some of you might not get your money for another six months.
If you have friends or co-workers that have not submitted the form yet, urge them to do so ASAP – I am happy to do the submission over the NLRB website for members – just have them send the completed form to me. Keep in mind, that these payments are only owed to members that fell into specific categories where MHA (Lipsky et al.) violated the CBA between 2011 and 2016. As a reminder, qualifying members are:
- Members who worked full time between January 2011 and December 2016 (the NLRB agreed with MHA that only FT employees were entitled to 401(k) contributions over HPAE’s strenuous objections);
- Some of the people who were laid off in violation of the contract between August 2012 and June 2013;
- Nurse Interns who were not paid the contractual rate for RNs and Nursing Assistant Interns who were not paid the contractual rate for Nursing Assistants.
At the time of the settlement, the NLRB estimated that the money being paid by MHA would be sufficient to cover 80% of the money owed to members – but this was a guestimate. From what I have been told by recipients, the actual amount being paid out is closer to 60% because far more was owed when the actual calculations were done.
Some time in the next couple of years, there may be a supplemental distribution of money. The NLRB is in the process of tracking down all 400+ former MHA employees who are entitled to a payment. They will spend at least a year on this effort. They will likely be unable to reach some of these people. Once they have concluded this process, the money designated for these unlocated former employees should be put back in the general pot of money and everyone should get an additional share of this undispersed money. If there is a supplemental disbursement, it will be significantly less than the initial: if the initial is equal to 60% of what is owed, then the supplemental would be whatever is in the pot to fund an additional percentage of each person’s entitlement – it could be an additional 1% or 40% but in no case would any individual receive more than 100% of money owed.
For those who receive significant payments, keep in mind that these will be reported to the IRS as income and will likely have an impact on your 2024 taxes. If you have a tax professional, you should discuss this with them. I would suggest setting some money aside in case it results in you owing taxes next year.
Corrado Cotumaccio
Staff Representative
HPAE, AFT, AFL-CIO
(201) 262-5005