part 1

Scenario: Toxic Managers, Harassment, Hostile Work Environment, Retaliation, Discrimination, and Bullying

Mr. Joseph is the nurse manager for the MedSurgical Unit at North Central Medical Hospital. Nurse Candice says that he has made the unit into a hostile working environment for her. She has refused to get involved in an inappropriate relationship with Mr. Joseph for the past 3 years. Candice is a much-disciplined worker who takes her work very seriously. She had a slight disability and required reasonable accommodation to do her job. Recently, Mr. Joseph started writing up Candice for every minor infraction. He had condoned and previously overlooked most of these infractions, hoping that Candice would come around.

Mr. Joseph frequently comments about Candice's race, religion, sex, age, and genetic disposition in a sarcastic manner, which was an embarrassment. Her peers often ridicule her about Mr. Joseph's behavior. A few weeks ago, Mr. Joseph denied Candice promotions and bonuses. He often finds it hard to approve her request for FMLA leave of absence, citing staff shortage.

One day, Candice decided to bring the matter to the chief nursing officer (CNO), citing a hostile working environment, undue hardship, and bullying. The CNO talked to Mr. Joseph, scolded him, and demanded that he apologize to Candice. Although Mr. Joseph apologized, his behavior took another turn. He started retaliating against Candice. The situation became unbearable for Candice, so she decided to sue the North Central Medical Hospital management for harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and bullying. She filled an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) complaint and demanded a million dollars for her pain and suffering.

You have been hired by North Central Medical Hospital management to provide training on employee relations issues (especially violence in the workplace), including the following:

• Sexual harassment
• Hostile work environment
• Discrimination
• Retaliation
• Toxic managers
• Reasonable accommodation
• Other employment laws

Prepare a 15-slide PowerPoint presentation addressing the following:

• What are the U.S. Supreme Courts views on retaliation, and how are they used in the workplace?
• What strategies could healthcare managers use to prevent and remedy discrimination in the workplace?
• What is the importance of periodic reviews of human resource practices and processes in hospitals?
• What is the impact of disciplinary actions, the basis for taking them, and the fundamental due process on personnel management?