Can the Supervisory Board prove that the explanation for her dismissal was reporting irregularities?

Over the years, worker reporting of irregularities has been the topic of many court cases. Signaling defines as “the disclosure by a person, usually an employee of a government agency or private enterprise, to the public or to persons in authority, of management corruption, illegality or other wrongdoing.”

In the next thing (Guminski v. Massac County Hospital District), the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois assessed whether an RN’s reporting of a nurse’s supervisor’s conduct constituted whistleblowing. The RN worked on the hospital from August 2009 to January 2014. According to testimony, the RN in the future observed her supervisor abusing a brand new worker and falsifying patient charts, “deliberately documenting ‘made up’ vital signs after patients were discharged.” The RN asked her supervisor several times if she needed help. The supervisor refused any help and added that she “knew what she was doing.” The RN reported each of her observations to the Chief Nursing Officer in early 2013.

After submitting an oral and written report back to the director of nursing, the RN experienced “harassment and retaliation” at work. In January 2014, it was dissolved.

RN’s lawsuit

In the lawsuit, the nurse raised two causes of motion. First, her firing was in retaliation for reporting her supervisor’s conduct to the Director of Nursing. Her second allegation was that her employment was terminated in violation of the state whistleblower statute. The hospital filed a motion to dismiss the RN’s grievance. The court discussed the law applicable to every explanation for motion of the RN. When pursuing a retaliatory dismissal claim, the three elements of such a claim are:

• The plaintiff must establish termination of the contract.
• The termination of the contract was retaliation for the plaintiff’s activities.
• The plaintiff must show that the termination violates a transparent public policy mandate.

Decision of the Court

The court cited several state cases supporting a claim for retaliatory discharge when an worker notifies a supervisor at his or her own company of misconduct and is subsequently fired. The court also reviewed other state case law that found that “public policy, as well as state law, favor an approach that would allow conscientious employees who report misconduct to their employers to bring retaliatory dismissal claims.” The hospital argued that the RN had not established a causal relationship between the termination of the employment contract and the alleged inappropriate conduct. The court opined that the RN only has an obligation to explain the claim in sufficient detail to offer the hospital with “adequate notice” of the content of the claim and its basis, and in addition reasonably suggests that he’s entitled to relief “above the speculative amount” level.”

The court found that the RN had done so and did not rule on the merits of her claim, but merely found that she had presented sufficient arguments in her complaint to resist the hospital’s motion to dismiss the complaint.

With respect to RN’s alleged violation of her rights under the state whistleblower statute, the court emphasized that under that statute, an employer may not retaliate against an employee for refusing to participate in any activity that would violate a state or federal law, rule, or regulation. In this case, there was no request or refusal to participate in any activity that violated any state or federal law, rule or regulation. In fact, the RN’s request to assist the supervisor was denied. In addition, the Whistleblower Act protects an employee against retaliatory termination of an employment contract if he or she reports relevant conduct to an external entity, e.g. a government or law enforcement agency, in administrative proceedings or in court. In this case, the report was made only within the hospital premises. As a result, the Supervisory Board’s allegation that her dismissal constituted a violation of the State Whistleblowers Act is misplaced. A motion to dismiss the retaliatory discharge charges was denied by the court but was granted due to her allegations that she violated the state’s whistleblower statute.

Notable concepts here

Terminating an employment contract is a terrible experience. This is especially the case in cases of retaliation for the exercise of a just, honorable or ethical right. There are legal protections in place to enable you to raise your voice if you observe misconduct in the workplace. However, it is important to remember that when trying to prove that you were actually fired because of your legally protected conduct, you must follow the legal mandates.

Remember these case lessons:

• If you are concerned about behavior at work, document in detail what the behavior was, when it occurred, the staff involved, the patients affected, and any other specific details about the incident or events.

• Before reporting conduct, whether internally or externally, consult an attorney and follow your attorney’s reporting advice.

• Document your conduct report, including the date it was reported to whom or to which agency it was reported, details, how it was reported (verbally or in writing), and the response to the report.

• Document any unusual incidents of harassment or other work-related behavior.

• If you are fired, hire the attorney you consulted to represent you.

• Please remember that to obtain protection under the Signals Act, you must first raise your concerns with your superiors and then with an external entity.

• A retaliatory discharge claim may be made if you raise concerns with your employer and are subsequently fired.

And don’t forget, always be truthful in your reports.

Take these courses to keep yourself and your patients safe:

Healthcare workers are held to high moral standards and expected to be advocates for patients. This innate drive to do “what’s right,” which is probably going a prerequisite to pursuing a profession in patient care, is rooted in history, law, clinical education, and current every day practice. What to do when the road is blurred and there isn’t any clear answer for all parties involved? The purpose of this course is to enable the nurse to know past, present, and future practices of ethical decision-making within the acute care setting, in addition to the way to cope with situations when our own values ​​and judgments are usually not consistent with those of the patient, family, or care team. For a lot of us, social media is an excellent option to stay connected with family and friends. We share photos and stories with people across town and world wide. However, nurses should be careful when using social media as it might probably affect their profession in unimaginable ways. Content taken within the improper context can damage a nurse’s skilled fame. Nurses have a responsibility to not sleep thus far on current issues related to the regulation of nursing practice not only of their state, but in addition throughout the country, especially when their nursing practice crosses state borders. Because practicing as a nurse is a right granted by the state to guard those in need of nursing care, nurses have an obligation to patients to practice in a secure, competent and responsible manner. This course provides information regarding nursing practices and their impact on nursing practice.