Lucas v. County of Cook (Summary)

EMPLOYMENT TERMINATION

Lucas v. County of Cook, No. 1-11-3052 (Ill. App. Ct. Mar. 5, 2013)

The Appellate Court of Illinois affirmed a trial court’s grant of summary judgment against a public health employee who was employed by her county and subsequently terminated for refusing to treat male patients and failing to acquire training required by her employer.

The employee was a board-certified OB/GYN, and she worked in her county’s public health department.  When the department informed the employee that she would be terminated from her job unless she attended a ten-day training session for providing clinical services to male patients with STDs and provided STD services to male patients afterward, the employee stated that ten days of training would be inadequate, and she notified the state office of professional regulations that her department had violated the state’s Medical Practices Act by requiring her to perform services as a physician without adequate training.  The employee refused to attend the training and her employment was terminated.  The employee filed suit, alleging that the department had taken adverse action against her for reporting the department’s violation of the Medical Practices Act and that this adverse action violated a state whistleblower statute and the common law for retaliatory discharge.

The appellate court affirmed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the department.  With regard to the first allegation, the appellate court concluded that the employee had failed to establish that the activity that the department wanted her to engage in (i.e., treating male patients after obtaining training to treat them) violated any rule, law or regulation.  Likewise, the court concluded that the second allegation failed because the employee failed to articulate a clear public policy that would support her common law claim of retaliatory discharge.  Accordingly, the appellate court affirmed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment against the employee.