Public Employee Press

Local 420 members beat the Health and Hospitals Corp. in a fight over extended sick leave grants

Two Local 420 members who were injured on the job won over $4,000 to settle their grievances against the Health and Hospital Corp. for refusing to provide the extended sick leave grant required by DC 37's citywide contract.

DC 37 Grievance Rep Monique Jaysura filed their grievances to enforce the contract provision that supplements Workers' Compensation with a grant of up to three months' salary for employees disabled by a line-of-duty injury other than assault.

"But some managers in HHC's Bronx Healthcare Network were refusing the grants and telling employees the program had ended," Jaysura said, "even when the members had filed paperwork for Workers' Comp and the grant."

"The impact knocked the wind out of me and I was pinned to the wall," said Patient Care Associate Romaine Singleton, whose neck, back and knee were injured when a 600-pound asthmatic man she was cleaning fell onto her at Jacobi Hospital. She needed surgery, wears a brace and is getting physical therapy.

"My last paycheck was a year ago for just $60.99. I'm getting Workers' Comp, but I'm behind in my rent," Singleton said. Her shop steward told her about the supplemental grant.

After Jaysura took their grievances to Step 2, HHC agreed to give Singleton $1,949 and Patient Care Tech Rose Nzarse $2,049 - the difference between their salaries and their Workers' Comp.

"The union has always been there for me," said Nzarse, who was injured transporting operating room equipment at North Central Bronx Hospital and hoped to return to work by October after months of physical therapy.

"I'd love to go back to work, so I'm focusing on recuperating and rebuilding my body," Singleton said. "This could have been worse. I'm taking it one day at a time."