Location United States of America | ||
Citation(s) 532 US 706 (2001), [2001] USSC 40 Court Supreme Court of the United States | ||
NLRB v Kentucky River Community Care Inc, 532 US 706 (2001) is a US labor law case, concerning the scope of labor rights in the United States.
Contents
Facts
Staff working for the Kentucky River Community Care Inc, who worked as nurses, petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to be recognized as a bargaining unit to get a collective agreement for their workplace. The employer argued that registered nurses had no rights to bargain, as they were "supervisors" and not "employees" under the National Labor Relations Act 1935 §2(11).
Judgment
Five members of the Supreme Court held that six registered nurses who exercised supervisory status over others fell into the 'professional' exemption. Scalia J gave the first opinion, joined by Rehnquist CJ, O'Connor J, Kennedy J and Thomas J. He said the following.
Stevens J dissented, joined by Souter J, Ginsburg J and Breyer J, arguing that if "the 'supervisor' is construed too broadly", without regard to the Act's purpose, protection "is effectively nullified".