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Pasadena Kaiser Permanente Attorney

California provides specific rights to healthcare workers who report patient care problems. If you are a healthcare worker, your employer cannot terminate your employment for reporting unsafe patient care conditions. In fact, they cannot take any adverse action regarding your job just for reporting a patient care incident.
Kaiser Permanente has been known to “create” reasons to end employment with certain workers after they report violations of patient care standards. If you think that type of situation may have happened to you, you need to talk to a Pasadena Kaiser Permanente attorney to learn more about your rights as a healthcare worker.

Employee Retaliation

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the organization receives about 45 percent of retaliation claims filed by employees. Even more alarming, these are just statistics of employees who choose to report claims of retaliation with the organization. Some employees choose not to report out of fear or frustration. Employer retaliation is common in all occupations. Employer retaliation happens when an employer decides to punish an employee after exercising their rights in the workplace. An example of an employee exercising their rights in the workplace involves reporting an employer for failing to provide a safe working environment, filing a harassment claim against the employer, or participating in an investigation.

Examples of Employer Retaliation

Some examples of employer retaliation include:

  • Terminating an employee
  • Demoting an employee
  • Reducing an employee’s pay
  • Denying the employee a promotion or pay raise
  • Changing an employee’s schedule or position
  • Issuing bad performance review
  • Discipline

California Laws that Protect Your Rights as a Healthcare Worker

California has specific laws that apply to healthcare workers. In fact, three are directly related to retaliation for reporting patient care problems.

  • Health and Safety Code Section 1278.5
  • Business and Professions Code Section 510
  • Business and Professions Code Section 2056

The State of California wants to protect patients in the healthcare setting, which is why it encourages and sometimes requires workers to report problems with patient care, including neglect, abuse, and poor conditions. This also extends to physicians and surgeons as well.

Getting Experienced Legal Help in Pasadena

Rager & Yoon – Employment Lawyers has been fighting employment cases against Kaiser Permanente for over 20 years. Unfortunately, Kaiser Permanente continues to violate employment laws in some circumstances, despite Rager & Yoon – Employment Lawyers’s successes against them in employment law issues in the past.
Rager & Yoon – Employment Lawyers has helped employees with various claims, including:

Our team can evaluate your case and use our prior knowledge about Kaiser Permanente’s internal practices and procedures to your advantage.

Elements of Retaliation

Employer retaliation is defined as any adverse action against an employee after the employee has participated in an investigation, filed a grievance, or engaged in some type of action revolving around an unlawful employment practice. When a retaliation claim has been filed against an employer, there are three crucial elements that must be proven. These three elements are a protected activity, an adverse action, and a causal connection.

Protected Activity

Protected activity is an element of a retaliation claim and is described as opposition to any form of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation. It could involve an informal complaint to a supervisor, a formal complaint to human resources, or anything in between. Retaliation can also follow for requesting or taking accommodation and/or medical leave.

Adverse Action

An adverse action is any action that the employer takes after the employee exercises their rights in the workplace. These actions include termination, denial of a promotion, suspension, denial of job benefits, and discipline. Other actions such as threats, reprimands, harassment, and negative evaluations can also be viewed as adverse actions.

Causal Connection

A causal connection is an element of a retaliation claim where there is proof that an employer took an adverse action against an employee after the employee participated in a protected activity. This proof can either be direct or circumstantial, the fact that the supervisor knew of the protected activity, the length of time between the protected activity, the falsity of the reasons for the adverse employment action, failure to follow the employer’s own policies, and/or similar acts against other employees.

Wrongful Termination

Wrongful termination is a form of retaliation where an employee is fired for an illegal reason. Wrongful termination occurs when an employer terminates an employee due to discriminatory practices in the workplace, a violation of public policy, or failure to abide by and follow the company’s own guidelines for termination. Some common examples of wrongful termination include:

  • Whistleblower retaliation
  • Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Violations
  • Retaliation for reporting understaffing, patient care issues, or being a patient advocate
  • Race discrimination
  • Sexual harassment
  • Wage and hour violations

Working through Kaiser Permanente’s Arbitration Process

Most employees that work for Kaiser Permanente, from doctors to administrative support staff, have signed an agreement that limits their legal rights to using Kaiser Permanente’s arbitration procedure instead of going directly to your local court in Pasadena. This procedure is unique to Kaiser Permanente. As a large company that employs over 20,000 people, this arbitration process is supposed to make litigation easier and run faster. However, because Kaiser Permanente created the system, it can be biased.
Rager & Yoon – Employment Lawyers has worked with Kaiser Permanente’s arbitration system for years. We not only know the procedural requirements, but we are also well aware of potential areas where bias might occur. We fight hard for your rights as an employee throughout the arbitration process. If you must use this procedure, then we want to help you make it as fair as possible.
There may also be situations where you do not have to use the arbitration process. If that is the case, then Rager & Yoon – Employment Lawyers can help you with your employment claim in local court as well.
If you have been wrongfully terminated for reporting patient care problems, or for another reason that you believe violates federal or state law, you may have a legal claim. You need to speak with a Pasadena Kaiser Permanente attorney to determine your rights in these situations. Do not wait to get this process started! Call today to request an appointment.

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