Riverside Superior Judge Harold Hopp tentatively ruled for summary judgment in favor of the Riverside Community Hospital in a labor law case Jan 18.
Plaintiff and traveling nurse Elizabeth Becker, who was placed at Riverside Community Hospital’s Magnolia facility by the traveling nurses organization Fastaff, claimed hospital management terminated her employment July 11, 2019, four days after she reported to her manager that she was supervising too many rooms due to a staff shortage and was injured by a patient as a result.
There was no stated reason for her dismissal, she claimed in her complaint.
Becker claimed she was terminated because she reported inadequate equipment and staffing shortages, and to prevent her from reporting the hospital’s issues to state regulators.
She claimed retaliation in violation of Labor Code Section 1102.5, wrongful termination violation of Labor Code Section 6310, wrongful termination in violation of public policy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress and negligence.
Becker filed the complaint Nov. 5, 2019, against the Riverside Community Hospital, Fastaff, and the U.S. Nursing Corp. Hopp dismissed Fastaff and the U.S. Nursing Corp. from the case Dec. 27.
The judgment
Hopp overruled Becker’s objections to summary judgment because they were not submitted in the form required by California Rules of Court 1.1354
Although Becker’s reports to management were protected activities, Becker did not establish the causal link between her alleged disclosures and her termination, Hopp ruled.
Hopp applied the standard established in the 2005 case Pattern V. Grant Joint Union High School District. To establish a prima facie case of retaliation, a plaintiff must show: “(1) she engaged in a protected activity, (2) her employer subjected her to an adverse employment action, and (3) there is a causal link between the two.”
Declarations from hospital employees said Becker was terminated for mishandling drugs, and that Becker’s concerns about equipment were not relayed from the nurse manager to the team that investigated her.
According to the hospital, Becker had removed two tablets of Norco, but only documented removing one, and disposed of the drugs without a second nurse as required by hospital policy, Hopp’s ruling says.
After a July, 2019, review, a hospital investigation found issues with Becker’s medication administration, scanning, and wasting and pain assessments over four days, which led to her termination, according to hospital declarations referenced in the ruling.
Once a non-retaliatory reason exists, the plaintiff has the burden to prove cause between her action and her termination, and she failed to do so, Hopp ruled, citing the 2008 case Mamou v. Trendwest Resorts.
Becker’s termination, if unjust, has to be tried under the Worker’s Compensation Act, not under intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, or negligence, Hopp ruled.
Parties
Andrew Rekte of Victorville’s Rekte Law represented Becker.
Jenny Choi of Ford & Harrison LLP represented Riverside Community Hospital.
Case number: RIC1905540
Read the complaint here.
