Opinion ID: 172871
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Ad hoc Committee's Investigation

Text: First, Dr. Couch asserts that the hospital's investigation and corrective action requirements resulting from Dr. Thomas's disruptive conduct complaint was in retaliation for his filing of a complaint against Dr. Thomas with the WBM. After the hospital's chief of staff Dr. Abel formed an ad hoc committee to investigate Dr. Thomas's report, the ad hoc committee hired Rardin to investigate Dr. Couch's alleged disruptive conduct. Like Rardin's earlier investigation, this investigation was of insufficient gravity to invoke First Amendment protection. The ad hoc committee had no authority over Dr. Couchit was only created to investigate actionsand the matter was then forwarded to the Credentials Committee, along with the ad hoc committee's report that Dr. Couch's handling of his complaint was inappropriate, because he did not follow established practices of medical review and was not open and honest with Dr. Thomas or the Critical Care Committee investigating Dr. Thomas's alleged errors. ii. Credentials Committee After the Credentials Committee received the ad hoc committee's recommendations, it required Dr. Couch to submit to a mental/psychiatric examination in order for the committee properly to decide on the appropriate further action. In the context of this situation, that requirement did not constitute an adverse employment action. Dr. Couch had documented difficulties getting along with other doctors and staff at the hospital. Indeed, the independent ACOG report, which was solicited before Dr. Couch ever engaged in potentially protected speech, and the first Rardin investigation actually encouraged counseling and anger management. Thus, the requirement for a one-time psychiatric counseling had an understandable context and was minimally invasive because it was only a one-time consultation. [18] Even if the requirement for a one-time psychiatric evaluation could be considered an adverse action, Dr. Couch has failed to establish that the Credentials Committee's action was retaliatory. The temporal proximity between the request for a psychiatric evaluation and Dr. Couch's complaint with the WBM was eleven months and is tenuous support for an inference of retaliation. Such temporal proximity is insufficient without any other evidence that Dr. Couch's speech was a substantial motivating factor of the Committee's conduct. See Maestas, 416 F.3d at 1189 (temporal proximity is insufficient, without more, to establish such speech as a substantial motivating factor in an adverse employment decision). Furthermore, because the decision-maker was a committee, Dr. Couch would need to establish that a majority of the members who voted on action were biased or that a biased member was a substantial influence over the committee's ultimate action in order to satisfy his burden to establish causation. The Credentials Committee consisted of Drs. Schulze, Chandra, Cesko, Sridharan, and Smith, and Patsy Carter. Dr. Couch has presented some evidence that Drs. Cesko and Sridharan had alcohol or drug abuse issues, which might suggest why they would want to retaliate against him for his advocacy of a random testing policy. See Maestas, 416 F.3d at 1189 (Other evidence of causation may include evidence the employer expressed opposition to the employee's speech, or evidence the speech implicated the employer in serious misconduct or wrongdoing.) (citation omitted). However, such a motive is pretty weak since the hospital had already rejected Dr. Couch's proposal and it is doubtful that the physicians would have considered Dr. Couch's speech was a threat to them because the hospital already had indicated that it was concerned about physician privacy by not requiring Dr. Thomas to undergo a drug test after concluding there was not probable cause to suspect that he was using drugs. Dr. Couch's speech thus posed almost no threat to Drs. Cesko and Sridharan and would provide little motive for them to retaliate. Additionally, Dr. Couch has produced only minimal evidence that Ms. Carter might want to retaliate against Dr. Couch for his speech. While Ms. Carter did indeed voice her dislike for Dr. Couch, he has produced no evidence that her dislike was because of his advocacy for random testing policy or because he reported Dr. Thomas to the WBM. [19] Finally and most importantly, Dr. Couch has failed to establish that the other doctors had a motive to retaliate. While they did vote against his random testing policy in 2002, such policy disagreement without more is insufficient to establish a retaliatory motive. And Dr. Couch's insinuation that they were part of an old boys' club that would retaliate in order to protect their colleagues lacks any evidentiary support. [20] Therefore, Dr. Couch has failed to provide evidence supporting his claim that the Committee's ultimate action was retaliatory. For most of the same reasons, Dr. Couch's claim that the Credentials Committee's subsequent action on the disruptive conduct complaint satisfied the fourth prong of Garcetti also must fail. After receiving Dr. Gendel's evaluation, the Committee made several recommendations to the Executive Committee, including that Dr. Couch be placed on probation, that he be ordered to undergo psychotherapeutic treatment with a psychiatrist chosen by the Credentials Committee, that he be required to meet with the Credentials Committee every three to six months and present a progress report from the psychiatrist, and that medical staff be informed of the situation and be required to report any disruptive behavior. This recommendation did not constitute an adverse employment action for First Amendment purposes. Under the circumstances here, where the committee's action was merely a recommendation for a higher committee to take certain action, and where the higher committee conducts independent reviews of lower committee's actions, a reasonable person would not be deterred from further speech. [21] Further, even if this could constitute an adverse employment action, Dr. Couch has produced insufficient evidence of causation by the Credentials Committee related to his protected speech for the previously articulated reasons. iii. Executive Committee The Executive Committee subsequently approved, on June 2, 2004, all of the Credentials Committee's recommendations, including the probation and psychiatric treatment recommendations, and on January 20, 2005, the Executive Committee affirmed this disposition. While an employer's action placing an employee on probation and requiring continuing psychiatric treatment would often be severe enough to constitute adverse employment action, here outside reviewers had previously recommended these actions and Dr. Couch was able to appeal these actions before an independent panel. [22] Cf. Somoza v. University of Denver, 513 F.3d 1206, 1214 (10th Cir. 2008) ([T]he fact that an employee continues to be undeterred in his or her pursuit of a remedy, as here was the case, may shed light as to whether the actions are sufficiently material and adverse to be actionable.). Thus, under the circumstances of this case, we cannot conclude that the Executive Committee's action would be likely to deter a reasonable employee from speaking. In any event, even if the Committee's action could constitute an adverse employment action, Dr. Couch has failed to establish that such action was retaliatory. The members that were present when the Committee voted on its action were Drs. Chandra and Schulze, and Ms. Carter. There is no evidence that any of these committee members were motivated to retaliate against Dr. Couch or that the Committee's action was substantially motivated by retaliation, and the rationale for the actions taken by the Executive Committee was well established upon non-retaliation causes.