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Whistling While You Work: Nurses’ Complaints about Internal Procedures Not Protected Under Georgia Whistleblower Act

8/15/17

By: Robyn M. Flegal

In late June 2017, the Georgia Court of Appeals held that expressions of general safety concerns do not rise to the level of activity protected by Georgia’s Whistleblower Statute – no matter how well-founded or well-intended.  The court reached its conclusion after considering a retaliation action brought by two nurses who were terminated after they voiced concerns to their supervisors about the way a Georgia healthcare provider staffed its shifts (one of the nurses raised her issues after a patient attempted suicide). The hospital, however, cited failure of the nurses to perform their assigned shifts as the reason for their terminations.

Georgia’s Whistleblower Statute prohibits public employers from (1) retaliating against a public employee for disclosing a violation of or noncompliance with a law, rule, or regulation to either a supervisor or a government agency; or (2) retaliating against a public employee for objecting to, or refusing to participate in, any activity, policy, or practice of the public employer that the public employee has reasonable cause to believe is in violation of or noncompliance with a law, rule, or regulation.

The Court decided that the trial court properly granted summary judgment to the defendant healthcare provider because the nurses’ complaints concerned only internal operating procedures. The women’s whistleblower action failed because they were unable to demonstrate that they disclosed a violation of a law, rule, or regulation to a supervisor or objected to participating in an activity they thought violated the same.

Public employers should be well aware of Georgia’s Whistleblower Statute and what constitutes protected activity thereunder. For more information, contact Robyn Flegal at rflegal@fmglaw.com.