Discrimination Claim Risk Avoidance

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Before the pandemic hit, remote work was, in most cases, a thing of the future. Concern about the productivity of remote workers caused many employers to resist these arrangements. Employees, they thought, would rather be taking care of laundry or kids than taking care of their duties. Enter Covid-19 – and most employers around the…

The hospital did not discriminate against a 73-year-old surgeon on the basis of his age or perceived disability or breach his contract when it required him to undergo neuropsychological and physical exams and have a proctor when conducting lower bowel surgeries following the death of one of his patients, a federal district court has found,…

A Boston hospital reasonably accommodated an employee’s religious objections to its influenza vaccination program by offering alternatives, but exempting the employee from the vaccination requirement would impose an undue hardship on the hospital because of the risk of infection to patients, a federal court in Massachusetts has concluded, granting the hospital’s motion for summary judgment…

A respiratory therapist can proceed with her civil rights claims because questions remain about whether her hospital employer intended to honor a patient’s request that he not be treated by black employees, a federal court has ruled. Caprice McCrary v. Oakwood Healthcare, Inc., C.A. No. 14-14053 (E.D. Mich. Mar. 16, 2016).

Caprice McCrary, an…

Where a former female employee showed a hospital imposed lesser disciplinary action upon male employees for infractions similar to the one that led to her discharge, her sex discrimination claims can proceed, a federal appeals court has ruled, reversing summary judgment for the hospital. Jackson v. VHS Detroit Receiving Hospital, Inc., No. 15-1802 (6th…

A federal court in Ohio has dismissed Family and Medical Leave Act and disability discrimination claims filed by a nurse who was caught sleeping while on duty and fired.  Lasher v. Medina Hosp., et al., C.A. No. 1:15CV00005 (N.D. Ohio Feb. 5, 2016). The court found the hospital had a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for…

A federal court in Texas has dismissed a nurse’s disability discrimination and retaliation claims because she failed to establish she was qualified to perform the duties of her position with or without reasonable accommodation even after the EEOC found the employer’s six-month cap on leaves of absence violated the American with Disabilities Act. Salem v.

Denying a nursing home’s motion for summary judgment, a federal court in Tennessee has allowed a nurse who suffered from impaired vision to proceed with her age and disability discrimination claims and a claim for retaliation. Harris v. MatureCare of Standifer Place, LLC d/b/a The Health Center at Standifer Place, C.A. No. 1:14-CV-64 (E.D.…

A nurse’s request to use a cane while working in a hospital’s behavioral health unit is not a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a federal district court in Florida has ruled. United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. St. Joseph’s Hospital, Inc., No. 8:13-cv-2723-T-30TGW (M.D. Fl. Feb. 18, 2015).

Leokadia Bryk worked…

A physician may proceed with her hostile work environment claims after a hospital revoked her clinical privileges, but may not continue with her antitrust claims because she failed to plead an antitrust injury, a federal district court ruled.  Levitin and Chicago Surgical Clinic, Ltd v. Northwest Community Hospital, et al., No. 13 C 5553…