March 24, 2026 — PEF secured a major victory and an award of back pay in an out-of-title grievance brought by three registered nurse 1 members (RN1s) at the Batavia Veteran’s Home who were assigned duties of a higher-graded registered nurse 2 (RN2).
“This is what union membership is all about,” said PEF President Wayne Spence. “Fighting for our members at every level, from contract grievances like this to legislative lobbying. It’s important that members who are facing contract violations reach out to PEF so we can assess the situation and provide guidance.”
In this particular case, the win means more money in the nurse’s pockets. The judge awarded back pay in the amount of the difference between the salaries of RN1 and RN2, with interest, for every day the members performed the out-of-title duties. RN1s are Salary Grade 18 (hiring rate of $66,951 and job rate of $85,138) and RN2s are Salary Grade 20 (hiring rate of $74,193 and job rate of $94,121).
“The judge determined the duties constituted more than supervision of direct care or nursing care activities, which would be appropriate for an RN1,” said PEF General Counsel John Svare. “Instead, the duties required a greater managerial responsibility; the nurses were the highest-ranking RN at their work location and directed all other medical staff.”
In the decision, the judge found that the Office of Employee Relations (OER) disregarded the nurses’ core allegations that they were assigned the role of “nurse manager/charge nurse” and were performing out-of-title duties of a higher grade, agreeing with PEF’s assertion that the “charge nurse” duties appeared exclusively in the RN2 Classification Standard.