Martinez v. UHS of Delaware, Inc.

162 F. Supp. 3d 796, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19359, 2016 WL 659654
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. Illinois
DecidedFebruary 18, 2016
DocketNO. 13-3070
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 162 F. Supp. 3d 796 (Martinez v. UHS of Delaware, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Martinez v. UHS of Delaware, Inc., 162 F. Supp. 3d 796, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19359, 2016 WL 659654 (C.D. Ill. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION

RICHARD MILLS, United States District Judge:

Veronica Martinez brings this action against her former employer asserting failure to accommodate and unlawful termination claims pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 2008 (“ADA”).

Pending is the Motion of Defendant Springfield Hospital, Inc. d/b/a/ Lincoln Prairie Behavioral Health Center (the “Defendant” or “Lincoln Prairie”) for Summary Judgment.

At the end of the day, the motion is allowed.

But first, let us review the facts.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Veronica Martinez was employed as a Clinical Nurse Manager for Lincoln Prairie when she was terminated in November of 2012. The Plaintiff has been diagnosed with and treated for depression and bipolar disorder.

Lincoln Prairie is an inpatient (residential) psychiatric hospital for pediatric and adolescent patients. Its philosophy is to promote healing of children and families through compassionate and supportive care by providing a safe, nurturing and comfortable environment.

A. Lincoln Prairie

Lincoln Prairie is a “lockdown” secured facility. The pediatric and adolescent patients are not free to leave the facility and are wholly dependent on staff members to care for them and to provide for. their physical and emotional needs. Patients are involuntarily admitted to the facility because they are at risk of harm to themselves, to others, or their parents cannot care for them due to the severity of their acute mental health conditions.

The primary responsibility of the nursing staff is the day to day care and safety of the patients. The risk of physical aggression from patients is a daily occurrence. In 2012, patients would bite, scratch, kick, throw things, attack staff, attack each other and self-injure. The Plaintiff herself has personally experienced this behavior. On one occasion, the Plaintiff was attacked by a patient and had her hair pulled, kicked and punched. The Plaintiff was attacked, put in a hold, fell to the ground and hit her head on the floor. A patient bit the Plaintiff while conducting physical restraint. A patient dug his nails and scratched the Plaintiff.

To address these risks, the facility staffs each unit with a sufficient number of adequately trained and experienced personnel. Based on the acuity of the unit, there should be at least 1-2 registered nurses per floor. The facility was generally slower during the summer months and would get busier (increased patient population) in September, which was the beginning of the school year. If a unit is left understaffed, there is a significant safety risk of physical harm to the residents and staff members.

The Plaintiff disputes that the facility was always adequately staffed. The condition of the patient population varied, which would affect the number of necessary staff. The Plaintiff claims she always worked at least two hours after her shift was scheduled to end. Additionally, she and other employees were on call after hours and on weekends.

To ensure compliance with various state and federal regulations, Lincoln Prairie would be subject to internal compliance site inspections. The Plaintiff knew and understood that a corporate visit was an intense and critical time at the facility.

[799]*799In 2012, the Plaintiff was a clinical nurse manager of the pediatric unit. The clinical nurse manager is the most senior “hands on” person on the unit responsible for the management of patient care and is the role model and leader to staff. The nurse manager oversees the unit, the staff nurses and documentation.

The Defendant alleges that the pediatric . unit that Plaintiff was assigned to is one of the more acute units at the facility. The Plaintiff purports to dispute the assertion, claiming there could be an aggressive patient on any floor.

In 2012, Renae Hale was the Chief Nursing Officer and Plaintiffs direct manager. The Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) was Mark Littrell and Tami Ireland was the human resource director.

B. Lincoln Prairie’s policies1

The Plaintiff was an employee-at-will for Lincoln Prairie and could be terminated at any time for any reason with or without notice. The facility did not require the implementation of any disciplinary plan prior to termination. The Plaintiff disputes this to the extent that the facility had a progressive discipline plan which was not followed in her case. The Defendant notes that company policy provides that based on the severity of the situation, disciplinary steps may be eliminated and/or it may be appropriate to immediately terminate the employee.

The Plaintiff received and acknowledged Lincoln Prairie’s Employee Handbook, Attendance, Human Resource and Code of Conduct Policy and agreed to abide by it. The facility has policies that relate to the behavior of employees. The Plaintiff acknowledged these rules, which included the following:

Certain rules and regulations regarding employee behavior are necessary for the efficient operation of the Facility and for the benefit and protection of the rights and safety of all. Conduct that interferes with Facility operations, brings discredit to the Facility, or is offensive to patients or fellow employees will not be tolerated. ... [including but not limited to]
• Non-compliance with any established Facility policy or work rules.
• Insubordination, including refusal to do assigned work or refusal to perform work in the manner described by a supervisor without proper justification.
• Inattention to duties or unsatisfactory job performance.
• Violation of any Facility safety and health rules or standards.

Lincoln Prairie employees are required to exercise appropriate judgment and conduct themselves in a manner that reflects use of common sense and good judgment, including (1) a total commitment to providing the highest quality of care through personal effort; (2) carrying out the written policies and procedures designed to enhance the dignity of patients; (3) avoidance of conflicting outside activities; (4) contribute to a supportive work environment by working to maintain a positive attitude; and (5) conduct relationships between staff that is characterized by mutual respect. Lincoln Prairie made clear to its employees that disciplinary action could result from: (a) inadequate or incompetent job performance; (b) failing to follow the directives of management; (c) abusive or improper .treatment of patients or other employees; (d) violation of the attendance [800]*800policy; or (e) failure to follow the code of conduct and ethical standards.

Lincoln Prairie relies on punctual attendance in order to provide quality patient care. The Plaintiff was expected to be at the facility at 7:00 a.m. on her scheduled ■shift. The Defendant alleges that, if she was not coming in, she was supposed to call-in by 5:00 a.m., two hours before the start of her shift. As a supervisor, the Plaintiff disputes she was subject to the call-in policy, though she says she adhered to it.

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Bluebook (online)
162 F. Supp. 3d 796, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19359, 2016 WL 659654, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/martinez-v-uhs-of-delaware-inc-ilcd-2016.