Some striking workers at Cleveland Clinic Lutheran Hospital in Cleveland no longer meet eligibility requirements for active employee benefits as of Oct. 1, according to a Sept. 30 statement from Cleveland Clinic.
“Beginning Oct. 1, some caregivers will no longer meet eligibility requirements for active employee benefits because they have not worked their scheduled shifts,” Cleveland Clinic said. Affected workers will receive information about COBRA continuation coverage and other options.
SEIU District 1199 said premiums were deducted from strikers’ final September paychecks and that workers received less than six hours’ notice of the change, according to WOIO, the CBS affiliate in Cleveland. A Cleveland Clinic spokesperson told Becker’s that employees do not prepay for benefits and that the deductions covered benefits through Sept. 30.
The union said it passed a resolution to provide continued coverage for striking workers through COBRA, according to the WOIO report.
About 200 of the hospital’s roughly 800 workers are represented by the union. Cleveland Clinic said the hospital remains fully staffed with support from caregivers across the system and continues to provide all inpatient care, appointments and scheduled procedures.
Workers walked off the job Sept. 23. The union said members will remain on strike until an agreement is reached, according to the outlet.
