Arbitration Order in California Nurses Union Dispute Reversed

A California federal court must determine whether a nurse’s union can litigate its grievances under its collective bargaining agreement with a hospital, rather than an arbitrator, the Ninth Circuit ruled Friday.

The agreement didn’t specifically authorize an arbitrator to determine its own jurisdiction, the court said.

SEIU Local 121RN represents registered nurses at Los Robles Medical Center and alleged the hospital placed certain types of patients with nurses who didn’t have the appropriate training, and that it was violating nurse to patient ratios.

The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California declined to rule on the hospital’s argument ...