CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union have announced that the AG's office's continuing investigation, in conjunction with union negotiations, has led to Alecto Healthcare Services saying it will pay more than $240,000 in paid time off to hospital workers of the Fairmont Regional Medical Center.
The $240,000 payment covers lost paid time off for certified nurse assistants and support nurses represented by the RWDSU, as well as the hospital’s support staff, cafeteria and maintenance workers also represented by the union. The union continues to work with the Attorney General to fight for back health care costs and pension benefits owed to workers.
“Alecto and every company operating in West Virginia must follow the law,” Morrisey said. “I am pleased our actions have helped lead to the recovery of lost benefits for additional workers at Fairmont Regional. Our aggressive efforts in this matter will continue as the employees of Alecto, no matter if they worked in Fairmont or Wheeling, deserve to have the benefits promised to them.”
Morrisey
The union president agreed.
“We have had to fight with Alecto and Fairmont Regional for years to maintain Health Care for our members, as well as proper staffing levels and equipment for their patients,” Stuart Appelbaum said. “Our members have always put patient care first, and now Alecto needs to pay their nearly $11 million in Health Care costs and pension benefits that are owed.
"This company has damaged this community and our members with their lack of ability to properly operate Fairmont General Hospital. We will continue to fight for our member’s lost benefits and hope to resume conversations with the company around this swiftly.”
Last week, Morrisey's office helped secure almost $850,000 for members of Service Employees International Union District 1199 WV/KY/OH. That's a total of more than $1.1 million for workers of the now shuttered hospital.
Morrisey's office says any Alecto employee with complaints related to wage payment and fringe benefit issues should submit an official request for assistance to the West Virginia Division of Labor. The complaint form can be completed online at https://labor.wv.gov.
Morrisey also announced last week that his office's investigation into Fairmont Regional’s sudden closure had yielded new information about whether Alecto provided advanced notice of any mass layoff to employees.
