National Labor Relations Board v. Kentucky River Community Care, Inc.

532 U.S. 706 (2001)

From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

National Labor Relations Board v. Kentucky River Community Care, Inc.

United States Supreme Court
532 U.S. 706 (2001)

  • Written by Tammy Boggs, JD

Facts

Kentucky River Community Care, Inc. (Kentucky) (defendant) operated a mental-healthcare facility staffed by about 110 employees, including six registered nurses (RNs). When a union (plaintiff) sought to represent all the facility’s employees, Kentucky asserted that RNs were supervisors under the National Labor Relations Act and thus not employees by definition. RNs were primarily responsible for dispensing patient medication and other tasks relating to patient care. During certain shifts, RNs also had the responsibility to serve as “building supervisors.” In that capacity, RNs had to ask for volunteers to work an understaffed shift. RNs also occasionally asked other employees to perform routine tasks but had no authority to take corrective action if the employee refused. RNs had no authority to hire, fire, promote, discipline, or make any other employment decision. The National Labor Relations Board (the board) found that RNs were not supervisors based on the board’s position that any independent judgment exercised by RNs in directing employees to perform tasks was merely the judgment the RNs ordinarily exercised in the performance of their profession. The Sixth Circuit reversed. The Supreme Court agreed to review the matter.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Scalia, J.)

Concurrence/Dissent (Stevens, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 816,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 816,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 816,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership