Whitney v. Franklin Gen. Hosp. – April 2015 (Summary)

SEXUAL HARASSMENT/RETALIATORY DISCHARGE

Whitney v. Franklin Gen. Hosp., No. C 13-3048-MWB (N.D. Iowa Apr. 21, 2015)

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa granted in part and denied in part a hospital’s motion for summary judgment against claims filed by one of its former employees, a medical records receptionist. The receptionist sued the hospital for sexual harassment, retaliation, and discrimination alleging that the hospital’s medical director had subjected her to sexual harassment over a period of approximately three years, culminating in her termination from the hospital. The receptionist did not report the alleged sexual misconduct while it was occurring, but she did take 12 intermittent weeks of Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) leave in order to obtain treatment for anxiety, depression, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The medical director was eventually fired by the hospital after an investigation revealed that he had sexually harassed at least eight other women. Following his termination in June 2012, the receptionist reported to her superiors that she had been harassed by the medical director as well, from 2006 through 2009, although she had initially characterized their relationship as being a “consensual” one and only two months later reported that the medical director had sexually harassed her.

Following her return from her most recent FMLA leave, the receptionist requested a reduced schedule due to her anxiety and depression. The hospital permitted her to work half days, but did not excuse her additional absences. The hospital explained that the receptionist had not provided enough information about her condition or about her need for additional accommodations. In defense of its actions, the hospital explained that the receptionist had repeatedly displayed issues with attendance, productivity, and professionalism in the workplace. She had received repeated warnings prior to her termination and was even presented with a Performance Action Plan in an attempt to correct the problems before she was ultimately terminated in December 2012. The hospital emphasized that it had no knowledge of the sexual harassment against the receptionist until well after the medical director was terminated, and also insisted that it had legitimate, non-retaliatory reasons for terminating the receptionist.

The court granted summary judgment in favor of the hospital against the receptionist’s sexual harassment claims finding that no reasonable person could conclude that disciplinary actions, including her termination, constituted sexual harassment rather than retaliation, sufficient to render her sexual harassment claims within the relevant 300-day statute of limitations. However, the court denied the remainder of the hospital’s motion, concluding that the receptionist had presented enough evidence to create a genuine dispute of material fact over her remaining claims alleging retaliatory discharge, disability discrimination, and FMLA discrimination and permitted those claims to proceed to trial.