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If You Go “Rogue” in Your Job, Can You Save it by Claiming You’r
(by Week of Nov. 5, 2008 - November 05, 2008)
Dawn Griffis, a nurse practitioner, was hired by Cedar Hill Health Care (Cedar) as director of nursing at two of its facilities, a 39-bed nursing facility, and a residential care facility. Griffis’ job was to provide nursing “overview” at both facilities, but she had no authority to hire or supervise staff.
Consistent with her responsibility, Griffis made a proposal to the Board of Directors to make certain service and staff changes at the two facilities. Without approval from the Board, she began implementing her recommendations by changing staff assignments. Her supervisor objected, but Griffis insisted this authority was inherent in her being director of nurses. The supervisor then sent her a memo reiterating her lack of authority to direct and allocate staff. After that incident, Cedar filled an opening for a social worker at one facility. Griffis objected that the person was not a licensed social worker and should not have been hired. It later turned out, the regulations did not require the social worker to be licensed, but Griffis persisted in objecting. After that, Griffis objected to her supervisor hiring an 18 year old she deemed unqualified. After that, Griffis was fired.
Griffis sued, claiming protection of the whistleblower law applicable to health care facilities. She asserted her firing was because she objected to unqualified people being hired, and the employer’s stated reason for the termination - that she was insubordinate - was a pretext. The trial court upheld the dismissal and Griffis appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court upheld the dismissal. The Court reasoned that the evidence plainly showed Griffis was insubordinate by overstepping her authority. Further it noted that the employer had not fired other workers who had complained about quality issues. Ultimately, the Court ruled Griffis failed to show that she engaged in protected activities, rather than wrongly asserting she had the right to run the facility.
The case is an example of what happens when an employee thinks he or she can run the business better than the boss ñ a frequent mistake some make. Griffis v. Cedar Hill Health Care Corporation 2008 VT 125.
See www.cheneycolumn.com for other articles.
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