An Oregon nursing home must face a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit involving an admissions director who told a new administrator that her decision to deny admission to a behavioral health patient was disability discrimination.
A judge for the US District Court of Oregon ruled that the 2024 lawsuit brought by Karla Hunt could proceed, based on an Oregon whistleblower protection statute. It makes it illegal for an employer to fire, demote or otherwise retaliate against an employee “for the reason that the employee has in good faith reported information that the employee believes is evidence of a violation of a state or federal law, rule or regulation.”
Hunt worked at French Prairie Nursing & Rehabilitation for 17 years before Volare Health acquired it in early 2023. That July, Hunt screened a potential patient at a nearby hospital, where staff told her that his diagnosed mental health condition was under control and that he had used marijuana in the past, but not while a patient.
She recommended admission to French Prairie, where the director of nursing agreed — but an interim administrator did not. The administrator refused to admit the patient, eventually telling Hunt, according to court documents, that he was “‘not the kind of patient we are looking for’ due to his age and mental health diagnosis.”
She asked the administrator to reconsider, arguing that declining an admission based on a “non-presenting mental health diagnosis violated the FHA [Fair Housing Act] and...
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