NURSES' WAGE WAR; A wave of lawsuits allege conspiracy, collusion to keep nurses' pay in check, but defendants claim an SEIU power play at hand.(Special Report)(Report)

Modern Healthcare, December, 2007 by Evans, Melanie

Byline: Melanie Evans

The nation's anemic supply of nurses is a familiar headache for recruiters or executives who grapple with hospitals' daily operations and budget.

Now it's an issue for hospitals' general counsels as well.

Lawsuits in a handful of states allege that hospital executives conspired to hold down wages amid a national nursing shortage, just when economic theory says demand should be pushing pay upward. Separately, legal action against a California hospital trade group contends the association helped hospitals collude to illegally fix overtime wages despite demand.

At stake are millions of dollars in alleged lost wages if judges in Albany, N.Y.; Chicago; Detroit; Memphis, Tenn.; and San Antonio grant plaintiffs...

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