Miamiaria nursing home owners must pay frontline staff for unused paid leave after failing to protect themselves from charges of unfair labor practices.
Last week, an administrative law judge in favour of the 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East failed to elicit answers after attempting to serve former Krystal Bay Nursing and Rehabilitation Center owners and managers. Advisors to the National Labor Relations Committee called for a resolution of the case without hearings or “substantial” evidence given that the Management Party did not want to participate in the board's legal proceedings.
This was the second major lapse of communication in this case.
The union claimed in late 2023 that the owners did not notify workers of any future operator changes, robbing them of their contractual rights to collect unused paid leave salaries.
The union's lawsuit revolved around Crystal Bay, Watercrest Acquisition I, Royal Meridian Management Company, which failed to issue a notice of operator changes. Two still active companies in the South Florida nursing home sector did not respond to a series of legal notices issued by the Labor Commission in 2024 and 2025.
It is unclear whether the nursing home has been completely closed for a certain period of time. The ruling cites “stop operation,” but the website shows that skilled nursing services are now being provided by another company at the same address.
Neither Royal Meridian's Lither Jose Fovic nor Watercrest manager Stephen Gottlieb were named in legal documents, but responded to requests for comment on McKnight's long-term newscare news ruling on Thursday.
In his decision, Judge Ira Sandron found that previous owners and managers were engaged in unfair labor practices by respecting the terms of the collective bargaining agreement and refusing to refusing to pay the unpaid hours as of the date of dismissal. The judge also wrote that the failure to report news of the building's transfer to the union was in violation of the contract.
He ordered wage and tax considerations to all affected employees as of April 2023 and added interest. This ruling party covers all licensed practical nurses, certified nursing assistants, activity assistants, meals and housekeeping, or laundry employees who worked in 143 bed nursing homes.
