For SNFs, the litigation puts direct pressure on staffing, as daily $1,000 fines for shortfalls accumulate even if facilities cannot source enough CNAs to meet mandated ratios.
Judge gives go-ahead to NJ providers in fight against state staffing mandate
A New Jersey Superior Court judge has denied the state’s attempt to dismiss a lawsuit by a group of long-term care providers aiming to invalidate a minimum staffing rule that they call unconstitutional. Judge Douglas Hurd ruled in favor of six nursing homes and the American Health Care Association of New Jersey after the state’s staffing mandate, which took effect in February 2021, imposed hefty fines for each day of staffing noncompliance. Providers argued that the law violated their due process and right not to face the excessive $1,000 per day fines that began in or around Fall 2023, court documents said, especially as direct caregivers have long been hard to obtain.
— McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, May 19, 2025
NJ nursing homes facing $425,000 in fines for just 6 weeks of minimum staffing infractions
At least 10 nursing homes in the state were cited for multiple short-staffing violations by the state Department of Health over the past six weeks. Those facilities are facing a total of at least $425,000 in penalties. The biggest hit appears to be a $114,000 tab against a Matawan facility. Offenders can face daily fines of $1,000 under the 2020 law, which also allows for $5,000 fines for violations that lead to staff injuries. Given the figures cited in this week’s media report, the state’s approximate 350 nursing homes could be on track to accumulate more than $3.7 million in fines annually, possibly much more.
— McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, September 18, 2024
NJ nursing homes sue state over staffing mandates
A group of nursing homes and an associated lobbying organization have sued the state over mandated staffing ratios. They say the pandemic and other factors have left long-term care centers struggling to keep up with the mandates and claim the setting of staff minimums is unconstitutional. The Health Care Association of New Jersey, an industry group, says daily fines of $1,000 against nursing homes that fail to meet staffing minimums, are excessive. “It is impossible for the Nursing Home industry to comply with the Staffing Law — there are not enough workers available in the system.”
— NJ Spotlight News, September 6, 2024
‘Classic Zero-Sum Game’: Nursing Homes Sue State over Unconstitutional Staffing Mandate
“The result is a classic zero-sum game with guaranteed losers. If on a given day one Nursing Home is lucky enough to have sufficient staff show up for work, by necessity other Nursing Homes will fail to comply with the Staffing Law’s mandate.” The lawsuit contends that the imposition of daily fines of $1,000 for non-compliance violates constitutional protections related to due process and excessive fines. A report from the New Jersey Task Force on Long-Term Care Quality and Safety points to an alarming trend of workforce reduction within the industry, identifying low wages, limited advancement opportunities, training expenses, and ageism as significant barriers.
— Skilled Nursing News, September 5, 2024
Nursing homes versus NJ over staffing-law enforcement
In the past six weeks New Jersey officials have cited at least 10 nursing homes for multiple short-staffing violations, assessing a total of at least $425,000 in fines. Nursing home operators are arguing that with the health care workforce in tatters, the law is now unconstitutional. In a lawsuit filed in late August, six nursing homes and the Health Care Association of New Jersey argue there are not enough direct care workers to meet the strict staff-to-resident ratios required by the state statute, making it impossible for them to comply. “That there are too few healthcare workers available to satisfy the law is beyond debate,” the lawsuit reads.
— NJ Spotlight News, September 2024
New Report Reveals a Majority of NJ Nursing Homes Fail to Meet Minimum Staffing Requirements
A recent analysis from NJ Advance Media found that 59% of NJ nursing homes failed to meet minimum staffing requirements in the first quarter of 2022, and another 11.9% failed to report data as required by the law. Taken together, this means that less than a third of New Jersey nursing homes have demonstrated compliance with the new law’s requirements. This trend is especially concerning as some CNAs have reported that their employers are using falsified staffing schedules and other means to circumvent the law, meaning that the actual number of non-compliant nursing homes may be even higher.
— Stark & Stark, 2022
