EMPLOYMENT TERMINATION

Blake v. U. of Miss. Med. Ctr., No. 3:05 CV 187BS (S.D.Miss. Mar. 28, 2006)

The United States District Court of the Southern District of Mississippi dismissed a physician's claims brought under Section 1983 against the human resource director of a university medical center. The physician's privileges were suspended and he was placed on administrative leave after a female urologist accused him of sexual harassment. There was an attempt to negotiate a settlement; however, the negotiations failed when the medical staff executive committee rejected the proposition of expunging the physician's suspension from his credentials file. Ultimately, the physician's position as an assistant professor was terminated pursuant to his employment contract. Instead of utilizing the medical center's grievance process, the physician sued the medical center claiming that his termination was in violation of his constitutional right to due process under Section 1983. The district court disagreed, finding that the physician was not deprived of procedural due process as he never requested a formal hearing, even though the medical center made such a hearing available. Furthermore, the district court found that the physician was not deprived of substantive due process, as the medical center's decision to terminate was not arbitrary, but was based on his alleged inappropriate behavior, the prevention of which was rationally related to a legitimate government interest.