On the One Hand – Court Grants Hospital’s Motion to Dismiss a Racial Discrimination Claim…
The federal district court for the District of Maryland granted a hospital’s motion to dismiss a case in which an employee physician sued the hospital for racial discrimination. The physician, who was of African descent, was hired to be scheduled in block shifts. After ongoing disputes regarding scheduling, the physician resigned or was effectively terminated, after which the physician filed a lawsuit alleging that similarly situated white physicians were treated more favorably. The court stated that the individuals that the physician identified as similarly situated were not sufficiently similar in terms of job status, responsibilities, scheduling arrangements, or the nature of the conduct at issue. Since the complaint did not show that similarly situated employees were treated differently or that race played a role in the employer’s actions, the court granted the hospital’s motion to dismiss. Adetu v. GRMC, Inc.
While on the Other Hand – Court Largely Denies Hospital’s Motion to Dismiss a Racial Discrimination Claim
The federal district court for the Southern District of Florida granted in part and denied in part a medical center’s motion to dismiss a case in which an employee physician sued the medical center after it allegedly retaliated against her following her complaints about workplace issues and patient safety concerns. The claims included those of race, gender and national origin discrimination, retaliation, whistleblower and contract claims, among other things. The court largely denied the motion, concluding that the physician sufficiently alleged claims for discrimination and retaliation under federal and state law, but did grant the motion in part by dismissing certain claims without prejudice, including portions of the whistleblower and breach of contract claims for lack of specific factual support. Velazquez v. The University of Miami