The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that a Spokane hospital could not lawfully prohibit nurses from wearing union buttons in areas where they only “might” encounter patients or family members. Health care employers should review their uniform policies to make sure union insignia and other political buttons and stickers are only prohibited in patient care areas and not in other nonpatient areas (such as kitchens, break rooms and hallways), even if employees might casually encounter patients there.
