Employment Law Scenario Analysis

Employment Law Scenario Analysis

Scenario 1

Evidence that Could Help Nurse Deb Win the Case

After getting fired for refusing vaccination, Nurse Debs can still argue her case and win. However, the nurse will be required to present evidence supporting her decision not to vaccinate to win the case. Firstly, nurse Debs will need to present evidence of her employment agreement to ensure that it is not an “at-will” contract. Secondly, Nurse Debs will be required to present evidence from tangible and expert research proving her argument on the safety risks associated with getting vaccinated. Thirdly, she will be required to present evidence on exceptions for mandatory vaccination for her religious beliefs and health concerns, as it has been argued (McDuffie, 2021). And finally, she can present evidence proving that her lack of vaccination did not affect how she delivered her services as well as risk her coworkers and the patient’s health.

The Law that Protects the Hospital’s Mandated Vaccination Procedures

Various Laws protect the hospital’s mandated Procedures. The first law is the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). The Act recognizes the need to promote workplace safety, especially in healthcare. It recognizes the need to control infections, including mandating vaccinations. During COVID-19, OSHA provided the emergency temporary standard (ETS) to allow hospitals to mandate vaccinations to mitigate the risk of further spreading the virus (Rothstein, 2022). The other laws that protect the hospital’s decision on the mandatory requirement for all workers are the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), which permit employers to mandate vaccines in case of threats to national public health and safety

Hospital Concerns if the Lawsuit Is a Success

Nurse Debs’s win in the lawsuit should worry the hospital and other organizations. The success of the lawsuit means that the hospital and other organizations cannot mandate vaccination regardless of the risks unvaccinated healthcare workers expose patients to. The success of the lawsuit will also require the hospital to make compensation for the illegal termination. Additionally, it will inspire other workers to ignore the vaccination mandate, and those terminated for related reasons will launch more lawsuits with further financial loss to the hospital and other organizations.

The Impact of Lawsuit Success on Workplace Safety and the Health Care Facility’s Obligation to Provide Protection

The success of the lawsuit has both negative and positive outcomes in relation to workplace safety. The negative impacts include an increased number of people rejecting vaccination and increasing the risks of spreading infections across the hospital. On the positive side, the success of the lawsuit will require the hospital to adopt new measures for improving workplace safety, including providing the needed protective equipment to ensure safety and strict operating rules for the staff when it comes to handling patients.

Scenario 2:

Concerns about Joe’s Termination

As the CEO of Premier Hospital, I am very concerned about Joe’s termination. Joe is a whistle-blower. In this case, the termination of his employment can be defined as retaliatory in nature and categorized as an illegal termination. The manager retaliating against Joe, who has reported practices that are unethical and risk patient and staff safety, violates state and federal laws such as the Whistleblower Protection Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the Consumer Protection Act, which recognize the importance of whistle-blowing and provide the legal tools to for whistleblower protection (Exmeyer & Jeon, 2020). The act of terminating Joe’s employment due to reporting the manager’s unethical practices is also in direct violation of laws related to workplace safety. A major concern is if Joe chooses to pursue legal approaches for the retaliatory and illegal dismal. It can impact the hospital’s finances as retaliation against employees for whistle-blowing is associated with high costs to the organization (Heese & Pérez-Cavazos, 2021)., It is also a risk to the hospital’s reputation and can even open it up for further regulatory investigations and reviews related to staff, patient, and general workplace safety.

Legal Principles and Their Involvement in Reinforcing Workplace Safety

The focus of the legal principles involved in the case is whistle-blower protection and protection against illegal termination for whistle-blowing. These principles can either promote whistle-blowing or act as a barrier to reporting unethical practices within healthcare organizations that risk workplace safety. Having well-established and effective legal frameworks related to whistle-blowing provides legal certainty and clarity that can help encourage whistle-blowing (Gibbs, 2020). Therefore, with clear and assured protection for whistle-blowing, employees like Joe can report any unethical practices that risk compromising workplace safety. Additionally, evidence shows that having legal and statutory protection against retaliatory termination for whistle-blowing can reinforce safety practices (Johnson et al., 2022).

Considering the Scenario with Joe as the Local Employee Services Union Member

Joe’s whistle-blowing termination would have been different if he had been a member of the local employee services union. Local employee services unions help represent workers in most collective bargaining negotiations to protect against any unlawful termination, harassment, low pay, and other work-related issues. If Joe had been a member, the union would have renegotiated his termination on his behavior and ensured that his employment was not terminated as an act of retaliation. Therefore, the union would have protected him and provided legal support after the termination to help maintain his job.

References

Exmeyer, P. C., & Jeon, S. H. (2020). Trends in State Whistleblowing Laws Following the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012. Review of Public Personal Administration, 42(2), 287–311. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371X20978449

Gibbs, T. (2020). Whistle-blowing: protection or discouragement. Journal of Money Laundering Control, 23(3), 591–600. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMLC-03-2020-0031/FULL/XML

Heese, J., & Pérez-Cavazos, G. (2021). The effect of retaliation costs on employee whistle-blowing. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 71(2–3), 101385. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JACCECO.2020.101385

Johnson, M. S., Schwab, D., & Koval, P. (2022). Legal Protection against Retaliatory Firing Improves Workplace Safety. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 1–53. https://doi.org/10.1162/REST_A_01225

McDuffie, D. C. (2021). Sacred immunity: religion, vaccines, and the protection of public health in America. Journal of Public Health (Germany), 29(6), 1365–1371. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10389-020-01254-7/METRICS

Rothstein, M. A. (2022). The OSHA COVID-19 Case and the Scope of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 50(2), 368–374. https://doi.org/10.1017/

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Write a 750-1,000 word paper in which you review public policy and how it affects employment. Address the following scenarios:
Scenario 1: Nurse Deb was due for her annual flu vaccination as mandated by her hospital’s policy. Nurse Deb is a big supporter of the antivaccination movement and refused to obtain her annual flu vaccination. Upon notice that Nurse Deb did not obtain the vaccination, the nurse manager fired Nurse Deb. Nurse Deb has decided to file a wrongful termination suit. As the director of nursing, how would you handle this situation?

Employment Law Scenario Analysis

1. What evidence does Nurse Deb have that could help her win the case?
2. What law protects the hospital’s mandated vaccination procedures?
3. How concerned should the hospital be if the lawsuit is a success?
4. If the lawsuit is a success, how does this impact workplace safety and the obligation of the healthcare facility to provide protection?
Scenario 2: Joe Gomez worked as a plant operations specialist at Premier Hospital. While Joe’s manager was working on the HVAC system that protects patients from harmful viruses and bacteria, he noticed that he was not using OSHA-approved filters. Joe felt that it was important to report this to the compliance officer. The day following his report, Joe was fired by his manager. As the CEO of Premier Hospital, how would you handle the situation?
1. How concerned should you be about the termination of Joe?
2. What legal principles are involved, and how do they reinforce workplace safety?
3. If Joe was a member of the local employee services union, does this make the termination different?
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.