A California woman is suing Kaiser Permanente for wrongful termination after she was terminated from her job as assistant director of diagnostic imaging. The woman’s supervisor is also named in the lawsuit. The defendants are accused of violating California health and safety codes, California labor codes and the Fair Employment and Housing Act. The complaint suggests a number of actionable offenses, including constructive termination and disability discrimination in addition to wrongful termination.
According to the plaintiff, she reported a mammography technologist for falsifying records to show herself as having performed mammograms that she did not actually perform. In addition to this, she brought other complaints about the technologist’s qualifications to her supervisor. The plaintiff states that the supervisor did nothing about the complaints, but instead sought ways to have the plaintiff fired. The legal complaint against the supervisor also states that she told the plaintiff to leave the department and find another job.
The plaintiff was eventually put on administrative leave by Kaiser. The complaint states that this caused her to suffer anxiety and check into an emergency room for chest pains and shortness of breath. This was followed by a two-week medical leave. Later, the plaintiff says that she gave a 30-day notice of resignation after she was told by her supervisor, five days into her leave, to submit an ‘action plan” regarding a disciplinary write up she had received previously. The legal complaint states that Kaiser realized her termination immediately upon receiving her 30-day notice.
In her claim, the plaintiff is asking for damages related to lost earnings, attorneys’ fees and prejudgment interest. Individuals who were terminated under comparable circumstances may be able to pursue similar damages in court with the help of an attorney familiar with employment law. That attorney may be able to review a client’s case and help the client determine what damages may be sought in court.
Source: Courthouse News Service, “Kaiser Forced Manager Out, She Claims”, Barbara Wallace, February 24, 2014