By AP/KWMU
Jefferson City, MO – A Missouri judge has temporarily blocked the certification of a union election for workers who provide in-home health care to the elderly and disabled.
Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beteem issued the restraining order Tuesday in response to a lawsuit filed by Integra Health Care. The lawsuit alleged irregularities in the voting process and violations of Missouri's open-government laws.
The state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations released unofficial results of the election last night that show 85 percent of the workers who cast ballots approved unionization. A spokeswoman for the department said those results were public record to anyone who wanted to observe the counting, and the department will not certify the election.
Beteem will hold an Aug. 4 hearing on whether to grant a preliminary injunction against certifying the election.