As you know by now, MultiCare plans to begin making deductions from paychecks on March 18 to recover amounts it claims nurses owe for alleged overpayments during the time period when Kronos was down. After multiple requests to push back the March 18 date and negotiate over an alternative, MultiCare refused to stop its plan.

Yesterday afternoon, WSNA, UFCW 3000, and SEIU 1199NW jointly filed a lawsuit in state court to try to stop MultiCare from making these deductions without employees’ consent. The unions believe that MultiCare’s deductions would violate state law. We have asked the court to order MultiCare not to make the deductions and to confirm that the deductions would be unlawful.

There is no guarantee that the court will order MultiCare to stop the deductions before the March 18 deadline. Even if the court does (now or in the future), that will not mean that MultiCare has no right to repayment. It will only mean that it cannot deduct the alleged overpayments from employees’ paychecks without their agreement. Of course, the unions will continue to demand that MultiCare negotiate with us over any repayment plans, as they are required to do.

We will continue to keep you informed about this important issue.

Please direct questions and concerns to your Nurse Rep, Brenda Balogh bbalogh@wsna.org.