Judge Tosses El Camino Pay Cap
A Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge has thrown out a voter-approved initiative to cap the pay of executives at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, and it appears unlikely the matter will be litigated further.
Measure M passed by little more than 3 percentage points last November. It would have capped the pay of executives at twice the $175,000 annual salary of Gov. Jerry Brown had it remained on the books. That would have affected the compensation of a half-dozen executives at the 399-bed El Camino, including Chief Executive Officer Tomi Ryba, who earns close to $700,000 a year.
In a 16-page decision, Superior Court Judge Socrates Manoukian concluded that Measure M was unconstitutional on two fronts: It did not enact a new statute that could be enforced, and it did not apply to healthcare districts. El Camino is governed by the El Camino Hospital District.
“We are pleased with the court’s decision, which will enable El Camino Hospital to continue to deliver high-quality and compassionate care by recruiting
nd retaining a strong leadership team,” said Neal Cohen, M.D., chair of El Camino's board of directors.
Although ballot measures in California are often the product of political ideologues or business interests seeking to exploit populist views, its primary backer, the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, admitted it was a bargaining chip intended to exert leverage in negotiations with El Camino management. The SEIU-UHW represents about 1,200 employees at the hospital. It agreed to a new contract not long before voters approved Measure M.
As a result, Measure M's backers have not appeared in court to mount a legal defense, and there is no plan to appeal Manoukian's ruling.
“We're not challenging it any further,” said SEIU-UHW spokesperson Sean Wherley. “We reached an agreement before it ever went on the ballot, so it's moot.”
That the voters approved a measure that had lackluster support at best from its backers suggests that some members of the community are concerned about the compensation at local hospitals. In California, CEOs of not-for-profit standalone hospitals earn an average of more than $705,000 per year, and some have salaries well over $1 million.
“Our compensation philosophy enables us to make thoughtful decisions around employee salaries and align them with the hospital’s overall strategic goals,” Cohen said.
