We rely on nurses and healthcare workers to keep patients safe; it’s imperative to protect them when they report dangerous staffing levels or hospital conditions.
Starting this year, California will chargeimpose higher penalties toon health facilities that discriminate or retaliate against whistleblowers who report issues that affect patient care, services or hospital conditions.
Existing state law forbids health facilities from discriminating or retaliating against patients, employees, medical staff or any other healthcare workers who present grievances, complaints or reports to the facility, or who initiate, participate in or cooperate in investigations. Before 2018, if employers willfully violated this law, they were subject to a $20,000 fine; as of January 1, 2018, the fine is $75,000 –more than triple the previous penalty.
The bill (Assembly Bill 1102) was introduced by Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez (D-Pomona) and championed by the Service Employees International Union Local 12 RN, a nurse’s union.
The old fines were outdated and “simply too low,” the SEIU said; the minimal fines had not been updated in 20 years. The union pointed to the example of Miriam Cortez, a registered nurse in Southern California who was suspended when she protested an unsafe patient assignment; Cortez said the hospital said it was “making an example” out of her when she complained it violated her whistleblower protection rights.
“We know that cutting corners and short-staffing puts patients at risk,” the SEIU said in a statement. “These higher fines (which are levied against both hospitals and individual managers) – and our continued commitment to blow the whistle when we see illegal short-staffing – will make it much less appealing for profit-minded hospitals to cut corners.”
Under California’s Health and Safety Code, employees who are discriminated against because of whistleblowing are entitled to reinstatement, reimbursement for lost wages and work benefits, attorneys’ fees and “any remedy deemed warranted by the court.”
Have you experienced retaliation or discrimination after reporting unsafe practices where you work? The lawyers at Keller Grover have more than 25 years of experience litigating fraud and employment matters. Contact us at 866-663-3308 for a free consultation.