ANA Asks Court to Accept Amicus Brief in Support of the Washington State Nurses Association
Silver Spring, MD - The American Nurses Association (ANA) has asked the United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, to accept its amicus brief - or "friend of the court" brief - in support of the Washington State Nurses Association in its dispute with an area hospital over a requirement that all employees receive a mandatory flu vaccination or be fired. The hospital's unilateral implementation of that requirement is a violation of the nurses' collective bargaining agreement.
The American Nurses Association and the Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA) support the use of the flu vaccination and strongly encourage nurses to get immunized. Both organizations oppose any health care facility threatening to fire people if they do not submit to the mandatory vaccination, especially in the absence of a declared public health emergency.
In January, 2006, the United States District Court in Seattle ruled in favor of WSNA, representing more than 600 registered nurses at Virginia Mason Medical Center (VMMC), in upholding the arbitrator's decision against VMMC and stopping the hospital from forcing RNs to receive flu shots.
The decision by the United States District Court rejected VMMC's efforts to challenge the arbitrator's decision, which, if successful, would have allowed the hospital to make flu shots a condition of employment and fire RNs who did not comply. The Court decision "did not find that the arbitrator's decision is procedurally defective," thereby upholding the arbitrator's award and denying the VMMC's appeal.
The medical center has since filed an appeal with the federal circuit court. ANA filed its amicus brief on behalf of WSNA on April 21, 2006.
According to the brief, written by ANA's General Counsel Alice Bodley, "ANA is an advocate of registered nurses obtaining immunization against the influenza virus, consistent with each nurse's health status and religious views. However, ANA is also an advocate of registered nurses' workplace rights and respectfully contends that the Virginia Mason Hospital did not strike the correct - or lawful - balance when it unilaterally implemented a mandatory flu vaccine policy. The standard of care did not require such an action, nor, given the context, does public policy."
The brief further states, "The rights of registered nurses employed by the Hospital must not be ignored in the rush to establish an effective influenza vaccination program. There are many incentives that could be attached to a voluntary program that would increase employee participation levels, and the arbitrator found that the Hospital needed to negotiate with WSNA regarding the program. The Hospital's arguments are unavailing because neither the record nor the law establishes a basis for finding a violation of public policy sufficient to reject the arbitrator's findings and conclusions."
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The ANA is the only full-service professional organization representing the nation's 2.9 million registered nurses through its 54 constituent member nurses associations. The ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the rights of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.