Nurse's Aide With Diabetes May Take Meals At Exact Times Specified By Her Physician, Court Says
Legal Eagle Eye Newsletter for the Nursing Profession
November 1995
Quick Summary: The court ruled a diabetic nurse’s aide was justified in walking away from her duties to take her lunch break precisely at 12:30 pm, pursuant to her physician’s orders. The court said the state unemployment compensation agency was not justified in treating her as having voluntarily quit her employment, or as having been fired for just cause, but would have to award her unemployment compensation benefits.The aide in question was required to distribute medications to patients. She was told by the charge nurse to pass certain medications at the hour of the day when her physician’s instructions were that she eat her lunch. The aide declined to pass medications and insisted on taking her lunch. She went to the director of the facility, who at first was willing to discuss an "appropriate accommodation," according to the court record. However, when the nursing director learned that the aide had directly defied the charge nurse’s explicit instructions, the director told the aide to "punch out" and not return.
The Supreme Court of Rhode Island ruled that the employee had a legitimate grievance, which she tried to handle in an appropriate manner. She was not guilty of "misconduct" as defined by law which would have excused her employer for firing her, in the opinion of the court.
Cogean vs. Department of Employment and Training, Board of Review, 658 A. 2d 528 (R.I., 1995).More from nursinglaw.com
http://www.nursinglaw.com/diabetic-employee-reasonable-accommodation.htm