Scott v. Sunrise Healthcare Corp.

• Decision Date: 09 December 1999
• Docket Number: No. 98-2873,98-2873
• Citation: 195 F.3d 938
• Parties: (7th Cir. 1999) SANDRA M. SCOTT, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. SUNRISE HEALTHCARE CORPORATION, a subsidiary of SUN HEALTHCARE GROUP, INC. d/b/a COLONIAL MANOR HEALTHCARE CENTER, Defendant-Appellee
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

Page 938

195 F.3d 938 (7th Cir. 1999)

SANDRA M. SCOTT, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. SUNRISE HEALTHCARE CORPORATION, a subsidiary of SUN HEALTHCARE GROUP, INC. d/b/a COLONIAL MANOR HEALTHCARE CENTER, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 98-2873

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit

Argued September 30, 1999

Decided October 28, 1999

Rehearing Denied December 9, 1999

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. No. 95 C 1277--Joan B. Gottschall, Judge.

Before HARLINGTON WOOD, JR., COFFEY, and EVANS, Circuit Judges.

TERENCE T. EVANS, Circuit Judge.

Sandra Scott appeals from an order granting summary judgment for her employer, Sunrise Healthcare Corporation, d/b/a Colonial Manor Healthcare Center, in this case brought under 29 U.S.C. sec.sec. 207(a), 216(b), and 215(a)(3) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act, 210 ILCS 45/3-608, and the Abused and Neglected Long Term Care Facility Residents' Reporting Act, 210 ILCS 30/1 et seq. She claims she was discharged in retaliation for her complaints about unpaid overtime and because she reported patient abuse to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). Because summary judgment was granted against her, we view the facts in her favor, not, of course, vouching for their accuracy.

Scott was hired as a data entry clerk at Colonial Manor in September 1994. She was responsible for putting certain forms and patient care plans into a computer. She was able to complete approximately two care plans a day, which was the approximate number prepared by Diane Johnson, the person who was care plan coordinator when Scott began to work at Colonial Manor. In November, Johnson gave Scott a written performance evaluation that was generally positive, commending her for completing work in "a timely fashion" and for managing "a large volume of paperwork efficiently." However, Johnson also stated in her evaluation that Scott should "decrease dependence of residents on her-- Residents tend to gravitate to her and distract her from her work."

At the end of November 1994 Johnson went on medical leave, and in December Mary Ann Conte became care plan coordinator. Conte reported to Ann Schultz, the director of nursing. Conte was assisted by two other persons in preparing patient care plans; as a result, more care plans were being prepared and they were prepared faster than Scott could process them. On January 12, 1995, Conte met with Scott and gave her a written "Notice of Corrective Action," which cited four infractions: lack of cooperation, attitude, poor work performance, and insubordination. Conte wrote, "This employee is argumentative, uncooperative, and spends a majority of the day socializing and interfering with nursing functions. Out of 105 [care plans], she has entered only 30--this is unacceptable. Repeatedly refuses to follow instructions of her direct [supervisor]."

Scott says she frequently worked overtime but was not paid for it. Specifically, she was not paid overtime when she worked "family nights" and when she worked through her lunch period. David Carmichael, the administrator at Colonial Manor, was the one who authorized the overtime, and he was the one with whom Scott discussed the failure to pay overtime wages. In mid-January 1995 Carmichael left Colonial Manor. It appears that Carmichael and a Joan Dallman are the only people to whom Scott complained about overtime.

Scott also claimed that she was concerned about patient abuse and neglect. Scott noticed that patient Mary L. had a "huge bruise" on her chest, and Scott urged the patient to report the injury. Scott befriended another patient, Barry F. In fact, Scott's superiors warned her to spend less time socializing with him. On January 19 Barry F. came to Scott's office, "crying and complaining that his feet hurt." Scott told him to go to the nurses' station for treatment but Conte ordered him to leave the station. He did not receive any treatment. Scott was upset that Barry F. had been refused treatment, and so she went back to her office and wrote a complaint; she then asked the receptionist for the hotline telephone number for reporting abuse to the IDPH. The receptionist referred her to a posted notice which set out the hotline number, which Scott called to obtain a fax number. She then, on the same day, faxed the handwritten complaint to her boyfriend and asked him to fax it to the IDPH. A week later, Myra Taylor, a representative from the IDPH, conducted an inspection at Colonial Manor. At the time of the inspection, Taylor did not identify Scott as the source of the complaint. However, it was clear that the investigation centered around the treatment of Barry F. and that Scott was concerned with Barry F. The assistant nursing director asked Scott to be available to talk with Taylor although, as it turned out, Scott and Taylor did not talk at that time.

The following week, on February 3, 1995, Ann Schultz gave Scott a "Notice of Corrective Action," which informed her that she had been suspended and that subject to review by the interim administrator of Colonial Manor, Paul Notterman, she would be discharged for "sub- standard performance." Scott specifically asked whether she was being fired for her complaints, and Schultz did not respond. On February 8, Notterman discharged Scott. Prior to taking that action he had spoken with both Conte and Schultz. Both women denied knowledge of Scott's complaints.

Scott's case in the district court set out retaliatory discharge claims based on two theories. The first is a claim under sec. 215 of the FLSA, which prohibits an employer from...