New York State Nurses Association Benefits Fund v. The Nyack Hospital
- Vincent Briccetti
- 7:17-cv-01899
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In New York State Nurses Association Benefits Fund v. The Nyack Hospital, Judge Briccetti ordered a confidential audit with limits on records, reporting, and use.
The New York State Nurses Association Benefits Fund, The Nyack Hospital, the auditor, the Fund’s trustees and counsel, the Union’s Fund trustees, and employees whose records are reviewed.
What happened
New York State Nurses Association Benefits Fund v. The Nyack Hospital concerns an audit of the Hospital’s records for January 1 through December 31, 2015. The audit must review the Hospital’s payroll records and the records identified by the auditor in a September 9, 2016 request, and it must generally occur at the Hospital unless the parties agree otherwise.
The order requires information reviewed or obtained during the audit to remain confidential. It limits the auditor’s ability to remove or reproduce records about employees determined not to perform bargaining-unit work, allows certain redactions, and restricts the auditor’s reports to specified Fund trustees, Fund offices, and their counsel. It also bars sharing audit information with the Union except for Union trustees acting in their Fund roles, and bars using the information for organizing or expanding Fund coverage.
Judge Vincent L. Briccetti issued the confidentiality order after considering a Second Circuit directive allowing the District Court to enter an appropriate order. The parties are expected to cooperate, and either party may ask the Court to clarify or modify the restrictions if they cannot agree.
The detailed version
- New York State Nurses Association Benefits Fund v. The Nyack Hospital · No. 7:17-cv-01899
- Vincent Briccetti
- Dec. 1, 2022
Background
The Court entered a confidentiality order after considering a 2022 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the parties’ submission. The order governs an audit examination of The Nyack Hospital for the period from January 1, 2015, through December 31, 2015.
Audit scope and location
The audit must consist of a review of the Hospital’s payroll records and the records described by the auditor in a September 9, 2016 request. The initial examination must take place at the employer’s premises unless the parties agree to another location.
The auditor may not remove or reproduce employer records concerning employees the auditor determines are not performing bargaining-unit work. An exception applies if the parties agree or if the information is mixed with information about employees performing bargaining-unit work. In that situation, the employer may redact information about employees whom the auditor determined are not performing bargaining-unit work.
Confidentiality and redactions
All information reviewed or obtained from the Hospital during the audit, including electronically stored information and financial data, must be treated as confidential client information under Section 1.700 of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Code of Professional Conduct. The information may not be disclosed except as allowed by the order, Section 1.700, or other specified circumstances. When operationally and legally feasible, the auditor must notify the Hospital if the auditor receives a subpoena or summons for Hospital information in the auditor’s possession.
The Hospital may redact addresses and other contact information for employees whose records are reviewed, except that the auditor may request contact information for particular employees when the auditor considers it necessary for verification. The Hospital may also redact the salaries of corporate officers and directors if their status is verified.
Reporting and permitted use
The auditor may report findings only to the Fund’s trustees, the New York State Nurses Association Benefits Fund Office, and counsel or co-counsel for the Fund or its trustees acting in those capacities. Those recipients must be informed that the transmitted information is confidential. The auditor must avoid reporting information that identifies an individual employee by name or position, except as necessary to inform the trustees about employees who might be eligible to participate in the Fund’s programs.
The auditor may not transmit information to other third parties without the employer’s permission. Audit information may not be shared with the Union, other than with Union trustees acting in their Fund capacities. The Union may not use the information for organizing, and the Fund may not use it to expand Fund coverage.
Disposition
Judge Vincent L. Briccetti entered the confidentiality order and directed the parties to cooperate in good faith. The parties do not need to seek Court approval for agreed interpretations or applications of the restrictions. If they cannot agree about a restriction’s interpretation or application, either party may ask the Court for clarification or modification.
Date note
The order’s printed date line appears incomplete or corrupted. This summary uses the December 1, 2022 filing date supplied with the opinion.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.