January 1998

   The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma ruled there was retaliation in violation of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Act.

   The charge nurse in a skilled nursing facility filed formal complaints with the state department of health and with the local office of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). This was after her written report to the facility’s administrator had been ignored that protective rubber gloves were not being made available by the employer as required by law. The charge nurse had had to dispense expensive sterile gloves to nurses’ aides so they could do their jobs.

   There was a flurry of activity by the facility’s administration, writing up the nurse for alleged deficiencies in patient care and supervision of the aides under her direction, right after the nurse filed her complaints with state and Federal authorities, right before her termination.

   The court discounted this as a transparent attempt to create some justification for firing the nurse. In general, if an employee files a complaint over an occupational safety and health issue, then is treated adversely by the employer and it appears there is some cause-and-effect connection, and then sues, the employer has to come to court with evidence it was not trying to retaliate. The court ruled this employer did not have believable proof of a non-retaliatory motive.