A mass layoff of an entire hospital nursing staff has led the Michigan Nurses Association to sue Sturgis Hospital.
Sturgis Hospital gave its unionized registered nurses only three days’ notice before the hospital closed and laid them off on June 19 of 2026. On July 10, the nurses association filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.
The Hospital made the announcement on June 16 that all 17 nurses working there would be out of a job, just three days before it closed on June 19. The hospital said years of declining reimbursement rates, rising operating costs and decreasing patient use left it without a sustainable path forward.
Hospital leaders said they had considered acquisitions, partnerships and other options before deciding to close.
The union alleges the Hospital was a covered employer under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act and that the shutdown resulted in enough employment losses to qualify as a covered plant closing.
The lawsuit claims the hospital should have provided 60 days’ written notice before the layoffs and did not qualify for an exception allowing a shorter notice period. The union is seeking back pay and employee benefits for the period of the alleged violation, along with attorney fees, court costs and other available relief.
The hospital submitted a WARN notice in June 2022 about a possible closure that could have affected approximately 194 employees. The hospital did not close in...
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