Employee Suing California Hospital For Wrongful Termination

A former employee at a California hospital is seeking financial compensation after she reportedly was fired for reporting sexual harassment. The woman filed the wrongful termination claim after she was dismissed from work at Lodi Memorial Hospital in April, according to news reports. The woman claims that she was a whistleblower in the emergency room, and she was fired because she dared to stand up to the physician to harassed her.

The woman told officials that she was harassed by the emergency room medical director at the facility several times during 2012. She complained to hospital managers about the man’s misconduct, saying she was worried that patients might be suffering from harassment as well. Less than a month after she raised her concerns, the woman was fired by hospital higher-ups, according to the wrongful termination suit. The physician who was accused of harassing the woman and several other employees no longer works for the hospital.

So far, the woman has already won at least one legal victory against the hospital, which accused her of violating the organization’s confidentiality agreement. The woman was reportedly denied unemployment benefits after the retaliatory discharge because of those allegations; the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board overturned that decision, explaining that the woman followed the hospital’s procedures.

The woman argues that the hospital is guilty of violations of state or federal law in connection with the incidents. She is seeking compensation for patient safety whistleblowing, sexual harassment, wrongful termination and other civil claims. No one deserves to be harassed in the workplace, and victims of sexual harassment certainly should not be fired because they bring the problems to light. In this case and many others, attorneys say that additional victims may come forward after the initial complaint is filed; indeed, this could be just the beginning of the hospital’s legal woes in connection with the sexual harassment incident.

Source:
www.lodinews.com, “Former employee sues Lodi Memorial Hospital” Kristopher Anderson, Nov. 26, 2013