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
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Court Finds No FMLA Violation, Disability Discrimination Where Hospital Terminates Nurse with Migraine Who Slept While On Duty
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…
Discrimination and Retaliation Claims of Nurse with Night Blindness May Proceed, Federal Court Rules
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.…
Court Allows Retaliation Claim to Proceed Where Reason for Termination was Unclear
An EMT can proceed with his retaliation claims where he presented sufficient evidence to require a trier of fact to determine whether his former employer’s asserted reason for terminating his employment is pretext for unlawful retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the New York State Human Rights Law, a…
No Race Discrimination in Termination for Circulating E-mail Critical of President, Federal Court Finds
A white nurse failed to establish that her termination for circulating an e-mail critical of President Obama occurred because of her race, a federal appeals court has found, affirming summary judgment for the employer. DeCarolis v. Presbyterian Medical Center of the Univ. of Pennsylvania Health System, d/b/a Penn Presbyterian Med. Ctr., No. 12-3647 (3…
Employer’s Policy Accommodating Only Work-Related Lifting Restrictions Could Be Pretext for Pregnancy Discrimination, Court Finds
A nursing home’s policy of accommodating only restrictions from work-related incidents could be pretext for pregnancy discrimination, a federal appeals court ruled, reversing summary judgment in favor of the nursing home. Jennifer Latowski v. Northwoods Nursing Center, No. 12-2408 (6th Cir. Dec. 23, 2013).
After learning that a nursing assistant was pregnant, the nursing…
Hospital Worker Fails To Show That Termination For HIPAA Violation Was Discriminatory
A hospital lawfully terminated an employee for improperly accessing a co-worker’s lab results and refusing to admit to doing so, a federal district court in Mississippi has found in Cosby v. Vicksburg Healthcare, LLC D/B/A River Region Medical Center, et al., No. 5:11cv159-KS-MTP (S.D. Miss. May 16, 2013), rejecting the former employee’s claim of…