When Are Registered Nurses “Supervisors” & Who Can Be In A Collective Bargaining Unit?
Over the years, employers have claimed that registered nurses are “supervisors” because of their oversight of other staff members’ work in some settings and under some circumstances. This is significant because the National Labor Relations Act does not protect the rights of supervisors to bargain collectively, even though the Act does protect these same individuals’ right to join unions. In fact, the constitutional right to freedom of association mandates that the government cannot restrict a class of employees from belonging to any organization they choose. As the National Labor Relations Board and the U.S. Supreme Court have considered the question of whether registered nurses are supervisors, various parts of the National Labor Relations Act have been considered. Most recently, the U.S. Supreme Court considered and rejected the National Labor Relations Board’s longstanding view that the professional judgment exercised by registered nurses did not make RNs supervisors when they direc
