With a $199,000 annual cap for nonprofit executive pay scheduled to take effect April 15, hospitals in New York still have a long way to go to become compliant. In fact, 26 administrators at Westchester Medical Center (WCM) in 2010 would have surpassed Gov. Andrew Cuomo's new limit, the Journal News reported.
The hospital also gave 20 administrators a boost in their total compensation two years ago, the latest figures available. The executives saw their pay increase as the hospital laid off 130 employees, froze hiring and chopped the 2011 budget by $18 million, the article noted.
Unionized workers blasted the hospital for instituting layoffs even though it posted a surplus for the past seven years. But according to WCM officials, union members failed to adequately compromise during negotiations, and administrators got pay hikes because their titles had changed and they took on more duties, noted the Journal News.
Despite the looming state cap, compensation issues at nonprofits have been rife in New York. In February, the Journal News noted that some nonprofit hospital leaders and top physicians earned five times more than the $199,000 limit.
Meanwhile, in Florida, Jackson Health System is facing similar criticism for increasing executive pay amid thousands of layoffs. The nonprofit advocacy group 1Miami called on Jackson Health execs to "right-size" their own compensation packages, according to a recent blog post. The group proposed that CEO Carlos Migoya could save at least one nursing job or several nursing aide jobs if he gave up the $12,000 car allowance and $46,000 expense account included in his $850,000 total compensation. To defend job cuts, Migoya last month offered to donate his entire bonus to the Jackson Memorial Foundation if his staffing adjustments achieve savings, FierceHealthcare previously reported.
To learn more:
- read the Journal News article
- here's the Miami Herald article