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American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees v. Illinois State Labor Relations Board

Case Date: 12/31/1969
Court: Supreme Court
Docket No: 99074 Rel

Docket No. 99074-Agenda 14-May 2005.

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY AND
MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES, COUNCIL 31, Appellee, v. THE
ILLINOIS STATE LABOR RELATIONS BOARD, STATE
PANEL, et al. (The Department of Central Management Services et
al., Appellants).

Opinion filed October 6, 2005.

JUSTICE FREEMAN delivered the opinion of the court:

This case arises from a decision of the Illinois State Labor Relations Board, State Panel (Board), dismissing a certification petition and a related unfair labor practice claim filed by the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31 (AFSCME). The appellate court, on administrative review, set aside the Board's decision. 351 Ill. App. 3d 707. We granted leave to appeal (177 Ill. 2d R. 315) and now reverse the judgment of the appellate court.

BACKGROUND

The Illinois Department of Corrections (DOC) is required by law to provide medical care to the inmates incarcerated in its facilities. By law, it may do so by contracting with private vendors. In choosing a vendor, the DOC requests bids which are ranked according to cost and other factors. The contract is awarded to the vendor whose bid is ultimately selected.

Pursuant to this process, the DOC has contracted with three private vendors to provide medical services at 34 correctional facilities. Wexford Health Sources, Inc. (Wexford), is one such vendor and provides medical services at 19 DOC facilities. Wexford is a private corporation based in Pennsylvania that employs health-care workers and assigns them to health care facilities in 11 states, including units located in Illinois.

The contracts between the DOC and Wexford(1) identify Wexford as an independent contractor and provide that neither Wexford nor its employees are agents of the DOC. According to the contracts, Wexford is solely responsible for the negligent acts of its employees, and Wexford is to hold the DOC harmless from any suits or claims arising from the negligence or misconduct of Wexford employees. Under the terms of the contracts, the DOC prepays the contract amount to Wexford and then throughout the course of the year, Wexford and the DOC conduct a reconciliation process, making adjustments to the amount paid whenever necessary.

Pursuant to procedures under the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C.