Wilkin

INTRODUCTION

The Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula (the Hospital) terminated the employment of registered nurse Kimberly Wilkin (Wilkin) after discovering she had violated the Hospital’s policies governing the handling and documentation of patient medications. Wilkin sued the Hospital, alleging her discharge constituted disability discrimination, retaliation, and otherwise violated the Fair 1 Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Government Code section 12900 et seq.; resulted in the unlawful denial of medical leave and retaliation in violation of the Moore- Brown-Roberti Family Rights Act (CFRA), sections 12945.1 and 12945.2, and the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), title 29 United States Code section 2601 et seq.; and constituted a wrongful termination in violation of public policy. Over a year after Wilkin filed her complaint, the Hospital filed a motion for summary judgment. The Hospital produced undisputed evidence, including Wilkin’s deposition testimony, showing she had violated policies governing the handling of medication, and, for over a year before she was discharged, had been regularly counseled for her chronic absenteeism and other issues.…