Kaiser Permanente employs more than 20,000 people. Unfortunately, there are many situations where they do not treat their workers well for various reasons. At Rager & Yoon – Employment Lawyers, we have been successfully bringing claims against Kaiser Permanente for numerous employment actions, including:
- Wrongful termination
- Harassment
- Discrimination
- Retaliation
- Defamation
- Whistleblowing
- Kaiser Foundation Health Plan
- Kaiser Foundation Hospitals
- Southern California Permanente Medical Group (SCPMG)
- The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG)
- The Permanente Federation, LLC
WRONGFUL TERMINATION AT KAISER PERMANENTE
Kaiser Permanente has a history of terminating employees for reasons that may not be entirely accurate. They occasionally use these “reasons” for termination as a pretext for the true reason that they want to terminate you. Potential reasons that you may have been provided may include things like:- Time card fraud
- Failure to sign Last Chance Agreement
- Health Connect violations
- HIPAA compliance or privacy issues
- Violation of performance improvement plans
APPLICABLE CALIFORNIA LAWS TO CONSIDER
Both federal law and the laws in Ontario, California protect workers in a variety of ways. There are also special protections for healthcare workers that might apply to your situation as well. For example, the California Health and Safety Code Section 1278.5 encourages healthcare workers, including nurses and other members of medical staff to notify the government of suspected unsafe patient care and conditions. If a healthcare worker reports these conditions and Kaiser Permanente terminates your employment shortly after that, you may have a good claim for wrongful termination. Keep in mind, however, that Kaiser will almost never come out and say that they have ended your employment because of your report. They may “develop” another reason to fire you. Terminating your employment is also not the only form of retaliation Kaiser Permanente may engage in. Other forms of retaliation may include (but are not necessarily limited to) the following:- Passing you over for promotions you have earned
- Demoting you for reasons that do not appear to be justified
- Disciplining you in a manner that seems excessive or unwarranted
- Preventing you from participating in training programs or other programs/opportunities that would potentially benefit your career
- Decreasing your pay
- Decreasing your hours worked if you are paid by the hour