DETROIT, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Six metro Detroit hospital systems have been sued for allegedly conspiring to suppress registered nurse wages and contributing to nursing shortages.
The lawsuit, filed in Detroit's U.S. District Court, seeks an estimated $340 million for 16,800 registered nurses working full-time since 2002 at the six hospitals, the Detroit Free Press said.
On average, nurses were underpaid about $5,000 a year, said Daniel Small, whose law firm filed the suit.
Named in the lawsuit are the Henry Ford Health System and the Detroit Medical Center, both in Detroit; McLaren Health Care in Flint and Mount Clemens; Oakwood Healthcare of Dearborn; Bon Secours/Cottage Health Services in Grosse Pointe and St. John Health Partners in Warren.
Mike Duggan, chief executive officer of the DMC, called the lawsuit bizarre. He said nurses at his facility received a 6 percent pay hike this year while others got 2 percent.
