Adiemeli v. Loretto Hosp. — May 2013 (Summary)

AGE DISCRIMINATION AND RETALIATORY DISCHARGE

Adiemeli v. Loretto Hosp.
No. 11-CV-3982 (N.D. Ill. May 16, 2013)

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted summary judgment in favor of a hospital sued by a former nurse discharged from employment after filing a workers’ compensation claim.

The former employee, a fifty-five-year-old registered nurse, claimed that the hospital terminated her employment in retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim and that the termination was a violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”).  The nurse, after working at the hospital for less than twelve months, suffered a job injury and was unable to return to work for a period of two weeks.  However, the hospital’s Family/Medical Leave policy only applied to those employed full-time at the hospital for at least twelve months, thus making the nurse ineligible to qualify for leave.  The hospital terminated the nurse’s employment but told her she could reapply for employment after granted permission to return to work.

The district court granted the hospital’s motion for summary judgment on the age discrimination claim as the nurse provided no evidence of age discrimination in violation of the ADEA.  In addition, the hospital’s wage policy was not discriminatory as it was based on a nurse’s experience and years licensed.

The district court granted the hospital’s motion for summary judgment on the retaliatory discharge claim as the hospital’s leave policy clearly provided a threshold requirement of twelve months employment before the nurse would qualify under the Family/Medical Leave policy.  The district court also held that the exception in the policy giving managers discretion to grant or deny personal leave requests did not apply as the nurse was not covered under the policy.