Farrow v. Saint Francis Med. Ctr. (Summary)

WRONGFUL TERMINATION (NURSE)

Farrow v. Saint Francis Med. Ctr., No. SC 92793 (Mo. Aug. 27, 2013)

The Supreme Court of Missouri affirmed in part and reversed in part a lower court’s grant of summary judgment to a hospital and a physician in a suit brought by a formerly employed  nurse, alleging violations of the Missouri Human Rights Act (“MHRA”) and other common law claims.

During her employment at the hospital, the nurse complained that the physician defendant sexually harassed her and made defamatory remarks about her work when she rebuffed his sexual propositions.  The hospital ultimately terminated the nurse, ostensibly for her “failure to meet customer service expectations.”  She sued.  The lower court granted summary judgment on all of the nurse’s claims.

On appeal, the Supreme Court of Missouri affirmed in part and reversed in part the lower court’s grant of summary judgment.  The court held that the nurse’s complaint filed with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights was timely.  The court also concluded that the hospital was not exempted from the scope of the MHRA as a corporation owned and operated by a religious or sectarian group because, as a non-profit corporation, the hospital was not “owned” by a religious group.  As such, the lower court erred in dismissing the nurse’s claims under the MHRA.

The nurse also asserted several common law claims, including a claim for wrongful discharge, against the hospital.  The court, in holding that the lower court erred in dismissing this claim, concluded that the nurse’s conduct fell within the public policy exception to the at-will employment doctrine.  That is, her allegation that her termination was because of her complaints that the hospital used non-nurses to insert catheter lines in violation of the state Nursing Practice Act constituted a wrongful termination based on a clear mandate of public policy as contained in a statute.