Hospitals and health systems which contract with Washington State’s Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) for adult care, mental health, addiction, disability support or youth services are now required to assure that such services will not be disrupted or delayed by economic or industrial actions. This new requirement was generated by new 2020 legislation (SB 6096). WSHA has released a bulletin on the new contracting requirements.
The requirement applies to new contracts and renewals of existing contracts as of June 11, 2020. The assurance may be satisfied through the execution of an agreement between the contractor and any labor organization that represents or seeks to represent employees who provide these services. Hospitals and health systems which contract with DSHS are encouraged to review the bulletin and consult with labor relations counsel. (Jaclyn Greenberg, jaclyng@wsha.org)
