- Business Disputes
- Antitrust
- Employment DiscriminationA New Jersey court refused to grant a preliminary injunction directing a hospital to reinstate a resident who was terminated from her training program for alleged performance deficiencies and failing required examinations. The resident, who was aged 57 at the beginning of the program, claimed age and sex discrimination and asserted that the appeal she was provided did not meet due process requirements. The court found stray comments related to the patient’s age were insufficient to create a likelihood of success on her discrimination claims. Additionally, the court rejected the argument that the appeal process was deficient due to the resident being prohibited from being represented by counsel at the hearing and from being present while the program directors presented their case for termination before the appellate panel (thus denying the resident the opportunity to cross-examine or challenge witnesses). The court concluded the appeal met the terms of the program documents and, further, there was nothing in the law requiring more protections.
- Employment ContractSession 2 – Deals specifically with physician employment contracts, and gives practical advice on how to structure them, not only to be legally compliant, but also to protect the interests of the employer.
- Sexual HarassmentOctober 3: Fast Forward to the Future: Got Staffing Problems? Don’t Hesitate to Get Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Under Control
- Disability DiscriminationA federal appeals court upheld summary judgment that had been granted in favor of a hospital that terminated the employment of an anesthesiologist about whom quality concerns had been raised. The physician alleged that the quality concerns were a pretext and his employment was actually terminated due to discrimination based on his disabilities (use of a walker and hearing aids). The court found no evidence to support pretext, citing the fact that the hospital had known of the anesthesiologist’s disabilities for several years prior to his termination. The court also noted that the hospital’s concerns about intubation were so serious that it had begun an investigation into the matter. Further, the court noted that evidence from a number of physicians who said they had no problem with the anesthesiologist’s performance was insufficient to undermine the deficiencies observed by the hospital in other areas.