Brigham and Women’s Hospital says it will stay open and keep providing “safe, high-quality care” if about 4,000 of its nurses go on an open-ended strike beginning Wednesday, October 14. Mass General Brigham has said it plans to bring in 1,600 to 2,000 temporary nurses to do it, NBC10 Boston reported.
That plan could have a consequence most people would not expect. Under Massachusetts law, workers on strike are generally barred from collecting unemployment only when the strike causes a “stoppage of work,” and the Supreme Judicial Court has held that means the employer’s operations must be “substantially curtailed.” If a hospital keeps running close to normal, strikers have an argument that they qualify. Here is how that rule works, what happens to the nurses’ health insurance, and where talks stand. The nurses’ claims and the hospital’s claims below are each side’s positions.
Where things stand
- Talks on Thursday, October 8 ended after more than 11 hours without a deal, and MGB said it is standing by its latest proposal, Boston 25 News reported. The two sides were set to return to the bargaining table Saturday, October 10.
- The Massachusetts Nurses Association gave the required 10-day notice for what it calls an unfair labor practice strike, GBH News reported. The union says MGB has refused to keep bargaining unless nurses accept a multi-year pay freeze, Boston 25 reported.
- MGB says its nurses receive annual 5 percent raises on a 20-step wage scale and that it proposed a new 2.5 percent increase for nurses at the top step, GBH reported. It told NBC10 its nurses are among the highest paid in the state and that wages have risen an average of 55 percent over the past five fiscal years.
- Nurses held a strike in July that turned into a five-day work stoppage, and the Brigham brought in about 1,300 temporary nurses then, GBH reported.
The rule: no benefits during a “stoppage of work”
Massachusetts unemployment law, G.L. c. 151A, § 25(b), disqualifies a worker for “[a]ny week with respect to which the commissioner finds that his unemployment is due to a stoppage of work which exists because of a labor dispute at the factory, establishment or other premises at which he was last employed.”
Notice what the statute does not say. It does not say “any week the employee is on strike.” It says the unemployment must be due to a stoppage of work. The SJC has read those words to refer to the employer’s operations, not the individual worker’s.
The Hertz case
In Hertz Corp. v. Acting Director of the Division of Employment & Training, 437 Mass. 295 (2002), more than 100 Teamsters struck Hertz in Massachusetts for six weeks in 1996. Hertz kept operating, with managers and nonstriking workers filling in. The SJC framed the question directly: “If there was no ‘stoppage of work’ as a result of the strike, then the employees are entitled to unemployment benefits for the duration of the strike.”
The court held:
- “For there to be a ‘stoppage of work,’ operations must be ‘substantially curtailed.'”
- “How much disruption is required to constitute a substantial curtailment is a fact-specific inquiry; there is no percentage threshold or numerical formula.”
- Even when output and revenue are unaffected, “high levels of disruption in support operations” can count as substantial curtailment, while “lesser disruptions in those functions will not.”
The SJC concluded there was no stoppage of work at Hertz and upheld the award of unemployment benefits to the strikers.
What that could mean at the Brigham
The legal test points in an unusual direction here. The more successfully the hospital maintains operations, the stronger a striking nurse’s argument that there is no “stoppage of work.” The more the strike disrupts the hospital, the stronger the case for disqualification.
Nothing is automatic. The Department of Unemployment Assistance would decide, and the employer can contest claims, as Hertz did all the way to the SJC. Questions such as whether elective surgeries were postponed, units closed or patients diverted would all bear on whether operations were “substantially curtailed.” No ruling has been made for the Brigham nurses, and we are not predicting one.
The lockout exception
Section 25(b) also says nothing in it denies benefits to a worker “who becomes involuntarily unemployed during the period of the negotiation of a collective bargaining contract,” but “in no event beyond the date of the commencement of a strike.” In other words, employees kept out of work by the employer while bargaining continues, as in a lockout, are treated differently from employees who walk out. GBH described July’s dispute as a five-day work stoppage. How those days were treated for unemployment purposes has not been reported.
Health insurance: COBRA
Nurses told NBC10 that striking would mean losing not only their wages but also their health insurance.
Federal law gives workers who lose employer coverage the right to continue it, at their own expense, under COBRA. A “qualifying event” includes “[t]he termination … or reduction of hours, of the covered employee’s employment.” 29 U.S.C. § 1163(2). Federal tax regulations address strikes directly: “a strike or a lockout is a termination or reduction of hours that constitutes a qualifying event if the strike or lockout results in a loss of coverage.” 26 C.F.R. § 54.4980B-4, Q&A-2.
That means a striking nurse who loses coverage can generally elect to continue it, but COBRA continuation coverage is generally at the worker’s own expense.
Frequently asked questions
When does the Brigham nurses strike start?
The Massachusetts Nurses Association has said the open-ended strike will begin Wednesday, October 14, 2026, unless a contract agreement is reached.
Can striking workers collect unemployment in Massachusetts?
Sometimes. Under G.L. c. 151A, section 25(b), they are disqualified only for weeks when their unemployment is due to a stoppage of work. The SJC held in Hertz Corp. (2002) that a stoppage of work means the employer’s operations are substantially curtailed. If they are not, strikers may be eligible. The decision is made case by case.
Do striking nurses lose their health insurance?
Nurses have said they would. Federal COBRA rules treat a strike that causes a loss of coverage as a qualifying event, so workers can generally continue coverage by paying the premium themselves.
Will Brigham and Women’s Hospital close during the strike?
The hospital says it will remain open and plans to use 1,600 to 2,000 temporary nurses.
Sources: NBC10 Boston, October 9-10, 2026; Boston 25 News, October 10, 2026; GBH News, October 2, 2026. G.L. c. 151A, section 25(b) read at malegislature.gov. Hertz Corp. v. Acting Director of the Division of Employment & Training, 437 Mass. 295 (2002), read on CourtListener. 29 U.S.C. 1163 read at the Legal Information Institute; 26 C.F.R. 54.4980B-4 read at ecfr.gov. General information about Massachusetts law, not legal advice.