ALJ Finds Hospital's Internal Nursing Documents Cannot Be Considered Confidential

An administrative law judge recently held that a hospital violated the National Labor Relations Act by refusing to provide the National Nurses Union (NNU) with copies of an internal nurse research and quality survey and staffing matrix.  According to the ALJ, while substantial claims of confidentiality may justify refusals to furnish otherwise relevant information, the fact that the hospital had reason to believe that the union would provide internal staffing and patient care survey information to the press did not warrant such refusal. 

In Washington Hospital Center Corp. v. National Nurses United, the hospital had allowed the NNU to review the Agency Healthcare Research and Quality (“AHRQ”) survey, which measured nurses’ perceptions of the quality of care provided to patients at the hospital, but the hospital did not allow the union to copy the survey.  The hospital resisted releasing copies because the union made known its intent to make the internal survey