Taylor v. Metro. Dev. Council

1

MAUREEN TAYLOR, Plaintiff, v. METROPOLITAN DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL, Defendant.

No. C22-5509-JCC-SKV

United States District Court, W.D. Washington, Seattle

January 17, 2024

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

S KATE VAUGHAN United States Magistrate Judge

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Maureen Taylor brings this civil lawsuit against her former employer, Defendant Metropolitan Development Council, with claims of breach of employment agreement, wrongful termination in violation of public policy, and retaliation. Dkt. 1-2.^[1]Plaintiff alleges she was bullied harassed, and subjected to false allegations by her colleagues and that MDC refused to properly investigate deliberately destroyed relevant video evidence, and refused to turn over relevant records to her union. Id., ¶3.5. She further alleges that, after she reported missing controlled substances and over- and under-medicating of patients, MDC advised her of vague staff complaints and, without explanation of the reason, placed her on unpaid leave. Id., ¶¶3.6-3.7. Plaintiff alleges the hostility and bullying continued upon her return to work and her request for hours, back-pay, and benefits due, and that MDC then improperly terminated her employment. Id., ¶¶3.8-3.9.

MDC now moves to dismiss all of Plaintiff's claims in a Motion for Summary Judgment. Dkt. 50. Plaintiff opposes the motion. Dkt. 57. The Court, having considered all of the briefing, attachments, and the remainder of the record, recommends that MDC's summary judgment motion be GRANTED and Plaintiff's claims DISMISSED.^[2]

BACKGROUND

MDC is a non-profit Community Action Agency providing programs and services relating to behavioral health, substance abuse, and homelessness to individuals and families in the City of Tacoma. Dkt. 52, ¶3. MDC's services include a Substance Abuse and Recovery Program (the “Detox Unit”) providing outpatient care and treatment to persons needing inpatient detoxification and withdrawal management from drugs and alcohol. Id.

Plaintiff holds a Practical Nursing License. Dkt. 57-1, ¶2. She also has a certification in Chemical Dependency Counseling and Family Services, and many years of experience working in the areas of mental health and chemical dependency. Id., ¶¶2-3, 25 & Ex. 7. Plaintiff began her employment with MDC on October 30, 2017, working as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) for the Detox Unit on the swing shift. Dkt. 52, ¶¶3, 5. As an LPN Plaintiff's responsibilities included, inter alia, admitting new patients, providing treatment consistent with physician orders, administering medications, charting patient information, and recording quantities of controlled substances at the beginning and end of each shift. Id., Ex. 2; Dkt. 57-1, ¶3.

Throughout her employment, Plaintiff belonged to a union and her employment was governed by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Dkt. 52, ¶¶13-14 & Exs. 6-7; Dkt. 57-1, ¶4. Plaintiff signed MDC's Employee Ethical Standard/Rules (hereinafter “Code of Ethics”), which provides that all MDC clients and service recipients are to be treated with dignity and respect and that violations may result in the termination of employment. Dkt. 52, Ex. 3. She also signed an acknowledgment of her responsibility to read MDC's Employee Handbook, which prohibits the use of abusive, bullying, coercive, or threatening language or other unprofessional communications and conduct. Id., Ex. 1; Dkt. 57-1 at 71.

MDC initially found Plaintiff's job performance satisfactory. A performance evaluation dated May 1, 2018 assessed Plaintiff as meeting or significantly above standards in all categories assessed, described her as very motivated and a team player, and identified as a strength: “shows professionalism to both clients and fellow staff.” Dkt. 57-1 at 113-17.

MDC began to receive written reports regarding Plaintiff in mid-2019.^[3]Specifically, on May 4, 2019, MDC employee Laura Hammer-Schoville reported that Plaintiff was improperly deferring patient admissions to the day shift and expressed frustration that nothing was being done “despite numerous complaints from staff[,]” and, on June 25, 2019, an employee reported Plaintiff's involvement in a conflict over an admission, after which Plaintiff yelled, “Fuck you and the [horse] you rode in on[.]” Dkt. 52, Exs. 8-9. Allen Jacobson, an MDC Labor Relations Specialist, forwarded the second complaint to Leslie Liddle, a union representative, and stated that others had had difficulties with Plaintiff. Id., Ex. 9. Jacobson noted his intention to hold a “Weingarten” meeting, meaning an investigatory interview that could lead to discipline and is held with a representative of the employer, the employee, and the employee's union representative. Id.

On July 3, 2019, Troy Christianson, MDC Interim Director of Inpatient Behavioral Health, reported that Plaintiff was “causing some additional problems with other staff in Detox[,]” and asked for an update on the investigation. Id., Ex. 10. On July 16, 2019, Hammer-Schoville requested assistance in dealing with Plaintiff, stating Plaintiff “had basically stopped talking to” her and appeared to have a “vendetta” against her. Id., Ex. 12. She asserted Plaintiff told others to leave urine samples for Hammer-Schoville to clean up and to not fix a mistake she made in entering a client's medication. Id. (also stating: “I could mention many, many times she has passed on work to other shifts, been rude and petty to the point that other nurses will not work with her, but I will keep this just about her and I, unless you want more information about this.”) On July 24, 2019, MDC conducted a Weingarten meeting, wherein Jacobson gave Plaintiff verbal counseling about her conduct. Id., ¶¶7, 20.

On September 2, 2019, a patient filed a grievance alleging Plaintiff had been disrespectful, stating: “I felt belittled [and] she talked to me like an animal [and] not a person.” Id., Ex. 13. On September 4, 2019, an employee reported that Plaintiff called her at home and asked about another employee's hours. Id., Ex. 14. Another employee reported, on September 13, 2019, that Plaintiff gave a patient a “hard time” about showing up late for his admission, and, on September 20, 2019, that Plaintiff seemed “obsessed” with whether other employees had the same number of admissions every shift, going so far as to ask an aid to make calls at 2:00 a.m. to try and find a new admission. Id., Exs. 15-16.

Jacobsen scheduled a second Weingarten meeting to occur in October 2019 and, in advance of the meeting, requested that MDC Manager Jerome Walters outline his concerns about Plaintiff. Id., Ex. 17. Walters provided Jacobson with statistics from the month prior showing a lack of intakes/new admissions during the swing shift. Id. Walters stated that patients were told to delay their admissions, that intake appointments were either canceled or rescheduled after phone calls by Plaintiff, that a scheduler “had been intimidated out of scheduling intakes” for the shift, and that it was “demoralizing behavior for the team.” Id.

MDC held a second Weingarten meeting on October 16, 2019. See id., ¶¶7, 21-22. On October 20, 2019, a patient filed a grievance stating Plaintiff “would not give me my belongings[,] laughed when I got upset, and made me feel like she thought it was a joke that I really needed my stuff.” Id., Ex. 18. On December 5, 2019, an employee reported Plaintiff stated she “hated her job” while doing an admission, and that the client felt uneasy and did not want Plaintiff to admit her. Id., Ex. 19. On December 12, 2019, an employee reported that Plaintiff yelled at a patient who complained about chest pain and told the patient he did not need hospitalization. Id., Ex. 20.

In an email dated December 17, 2019, Plaintiff reported to Walters that, on December 13th, she discovered a failure to account for four missing capsules of medication. Id., Ex. 12. On the day of the incident described, Hammer-Schoville quit, walking off the job and leaving another employee and then Plaintiff to cover a shift. Id. Plaintiff stated:

With 3 nurses changing hands, and not counting controlled substances at the change of hands, this is not acceptable in the nursing profession. I, by law, should not have taken the medication room keys without the count being correct. With controlled substances, they have to be accounted for, before the next nurse takes responsibility. Each time the medication keys exchange hands/responsibility, there has to be accountability for the medications that are given.

Id.

On December 18, 2019, MDC held a third Weingarten meeting. Id., ¶¶7, 28. On that same day, MDC placed Plaintiff on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations of workplace misconduct. Id., ¶28 & Ex. 23.

MDC received three additional employee reports during Plaintiff's administrative leave. An employee reported that Plaintiff, inter alia, misgendered him repeatedly, commented on an employee's pregnancy, and stated with respect to another employee, “‘Dana is a big fat black woman. You can't miss her.'” Id., Ex. 24. Another employee described an incident in which a female patient appeared for admission on the swing shift, was not admitted, and slept on a bench in the hall outside the unit the entire night. Id., Ex. 25. This same employee stated: “Several times, if she worked late she would call off for the next shift.” Id. A third employee reported that Plaintiff once “pushed a door so hard behind me that it nearly hit my head[,]” and had disrespected her on many other occasions. Id., Ex. 26.

In conducting the investigation into the complaints against Plaintiff, Jacobson requested documentation from Walters, but Walters did not provide any evidence. Id., Ex. 5 at 71:21-72:7; Dkt. 57-1, ¶88....