Mathews v. Choptank Cmty. Health Sys.
| Decision Date | 28 December 2020 |
| Docket Number | Civil No. ELH-20-1255 |
| Parties | ROMONA MATHEWS Plaintiff, v. CHOPTANK COMMUNITY HEALTH SYSTEM, INC., Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Maryland |
In this employment case, Romona ("Mona") Mathews filed suit against her former employer, Choptank Community Health System, Inc. ("Choptank" or "CCHS"), alleging that she was wrongfully terminated in retaliation for reporting inadequate patient care and for requesting medical leave. In particular, she asserts claims under the Maryland Health Care Worker Whistleblower Protection Act ("Whistleblower Act" or "HCWWPA"), Md. Code , §§ 1-501 to 1-506 of the Health Occupations Article ("H.O.") (Count 1); the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"), 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601 et seq. (Count 2); and the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act ("MHWFA"), Md. Code , §§ 3-1301 to 3-1311 of the Labor and Employment Article ("L.E.") (Count 3). ECF 34 ("Third Amended Complaint" or "TAC").1
Choptank has filed a post-discovery motion for summary judgment (ECF 42), supported by a memorandum of law (ECF 42-2) (collectively, the "Motion") and numerous exhibits. ECF42-3 to ECF 42-17. Plaintiff opposes the Motion (ECF 51, the "Opposition") and has submitted several exhibits. ECF 51-1 to ECF 51-10. Defendant replied (ECF 52) and filed two additional exhibits. ECF 52-1; ECF 52-2.
No hearing is necessary to resolve the Motion. See Local Rule 105.6. For the reasons that follow, I shall grant the Motion.
Plaintiff filed suit against Choptank in the Circuit Court for Caroline County on June 4, 2019, alleging a violation of Maryland's Whistleblower Act. Id. Then, on July 9, 2019, prior to service of the suit on Choptank, plaintiff filed an Amended Complaint, adding a claim for retaliation, in violation of the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act ("Fair Employment"), Md. Code , §§ 20-601 et seq. of the State Government Article. ECF 11 ("FAC").Thereafter, on August 22, 2019, plaintiff filed a Second Amended Complaint. ECF 16 ("SAC"). In the SAC, plaintiff removed the Fair Employment claim. Id.
Defendant moved to dismiss the SAC. ECF 17. But, the court denied defendant's motion. ECF 20. Discovery proceeded on the SAC, concluding on May 7, 2020. ECF 35.
On May 8, 2020, following the completion of discovery, plaintiff filed her Third Amended Complaint. ECF 34. In the TAC, plaintiff added two claims: violation of the FMLA (Count 2) and violation of the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act (Count 3). On May 20, 2020, on the basis of plaintiff's newly added FMLA claim, defendants removed the case to this Court. ECF 1.
Choptank is a private non-profit community health center that provides primary health care services in seven facilities throughout the Eastern Shore of Maryland. ECF 51-2 at 5, Bowling Tr. at 13:18-20. From 2005 until her termination on June 12, 2018, Mathews worked as a medical assistant ("MA") for Choptank. She primarily worked out of Choptank's Easton Pediatrics ("Easton Peds") facility. Id. at 12, Bowling Tr. at 177:11-13.
Mathews was first certified as a medical assistant in 1979 after taking a course and passing an exam. ECF 42-3 at 4, Mathews Tr. at 11:7-15. The certification lasted for a two-year period and then she "let the certification go." Id. at 4-5, Mathews Tr. at 11:18-12:11. When Mathews was hired by Choptank in 2005, she was not required to renew her certification. Id. at 5, Mathews Tr. at 12:7-18. Throughout her career with Choptank, Mathews received positive performancereviews that consistently ranked her as meeting or exceeding expectations. See ECF 51-4 ().
From around January 2018 until June 2018, Mathews was supervised by the Director of Clinical Operations ("Director"), Jannette Bowling. ECF 51-2 at 3, Bowling Tr. at 5:17, 7:17. Bowling began working for Choptank in December 2017. Id. at 4, Bowling Tr. at 5:17. Her role as Director included managing "35-plus" employees, including medical assistants, like Mathews, and registered nurses. Id., Bowling Tr. at 8:2-7. Bowling was also involved in staff scheduling, the vaccine program, the daily routine of the different sites, and ordering supplies. Id. at 6, Bowling Tr. at 15:16-16:2.
In addition, Bowling had the power to hire and fire employees "jointly" with human resources. Id. at 4, Bowling Tr. at 8:13-21. Bowling testified that she generally did not have to consult with anybody before terminating an employee, but she chose to consult with her supervisor, Gary Long, the Chief Financial Officer, and Rick Barton, director of human resources. Id. at 5-6, Bowling Tr. at 9:11-10:23.
Bowling testified that she never "had any complaints or issues with" Mathews before the "interactions g[o]t bad." Id. at 8, Bowling Tr. at 23:21-24:10. In fact, in February 2018, Bowling had two MA applicants "shadow" Mathews at work. See ECF 51-5 (Emails between Mathews and Bowling, February 2018). And, Bowling asked Mathews for her feedback on the applicants. Id. Further, Mathews offered to assist Bowling with staffing shortages on at least one occasion in March 2018. See ECF 51-6 (Emails between Mathews and Bowling, March 2018).
As a Director, Bowling held monthly meetings with employees, known as "rounding" sessions. ECF 34, ¶ 7; ECF 51-1 at 15, Mathews Tr. at 229:4-14. Mathews testified that during the rounding session between Mathews and Bowling in March 2018, she told Bowling that the thermometers at her facility were not providing accurate information. ECF 51-1 at 11, Mathews Tr. at 151-152. Mathews described a specific incident where an 8-month old child had a fever of 102 degrees according to the mercury rectal temperature, but the regular thermometer reading came back normal. Id. Mathews also testified that she told Bowling that the majority of blood pressure cuffs at the Easton facility were old or outdated and did not provide an accurate blood pressure reading. Id. at 13, Mathews Tr. at 158:15-17.
Further, Mathews said that she talked to Bowling about the staffing practices in Choptank's Denton office. Id. at 12, Mathews Tr. at 156-157. In particular, Mathews testified that she complained to Bowling that "frequently" the Denton office "had only one MA scheduled to work simultaneously with two providers." Id., Mathews Tr. at 157:2-5. And, Mathews stated that on at least one occasion she was required to work for two providers at once. Id., Mathews Tr. at 157:11-17.
In contrast, Bowling testified that during the March 2018 session Mathews only informed her that the thermometers were not working properly, but she did not mention anything about an 8-month old child, blood pressure cuffs, any other defective equipment, or inadequate staffing practices. ECF 51-2 at 11, Bowling Tr. at 170-171.
Mathews testified that Bowling's "behavior" towards Mathews changed after their rounding session in March 2018. ECF 51-1 at 13, Mathews Tr. at 159:14-17. In particular, Mathews explained that Bowling no longer made eye contact with her, ignored her, and communicated with her through co-workers. Id., Mathews Tr. at 159-160. Further, Mathews testified that she believed Bowling did not want to speak to her based on "a lot of [Bowling's] actions." Id. at 14, Mathews Tr. at 162:20-163:8. Mathews said: Id., Mathews Tr. at 162:20-163:8. In addition, Mathews stated: Id., Mathews Tr. at 163:4-8.
As a result of the March 2018 rounding session, Mathews claimed that Bowling refused to hold a rounding session with her in April 2018. Id., Mathews Tr. at 163:12-14. However, Bowling testified that she did not recall refusing to hold a session with Mathews. ECF 51-2 at 11-12, Bowling Tr. at 173:21-174:3.
Thereafter, in May 2018 Mathews attended a rounding session with Bowling and Long. Id. at 12, Bowling Tr. at 175; ECF 51-1 at 12, Mathews Tr. at 156:16-18. Bowling testified that Long participated in the rounding session because he ECF 51-2 at 12, Bowling Tr. at 175-176. However, Bowling did not recall what they discussed during this session. Id., Bowling Tr. at176:13-177:10. According to Mathews, during this rounding session, she complained about all the same issues that she had mentioned during the March 2018 session with Bowling. ECF 51-1 at 13, Mathews Tr. at 159:3-7.
At plaintiff's deposition, she was asked to identify the law, rule, or regulation that she believed Choptank had violated with the ineffective equipment and staffing shortages. ECF 42-14 (Pl.'s Response to Choptank's Second Set of Interrogatories); ECF 42-3 at 18-19, Mathews Tr. at 176-177. Mathews testified, ECF 42-3 at 19-20, Mathews Tr. at 177:4-178:17:
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