Opinion ID: 1572806
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Retaliation Claim Under Section 11

Text: Section 11 is clear and unambiguous; it provides a cause of action for retaliatory acts taken against a person reporting under article 4525a: No person shall suspend, terminate, or otherwise discipline or discriminate against a person reporting, without malice, under this article. A person has a cause of action against an individual, organization, agency, facility, or other person that suspends or terminates the employment of the person or otherwise disciplines or discriminates against the person for reporting under this article. TEX.REV.CIV. STAT. art. 4525a, § 11(a). Home Health argues that the Nurses have no cause of action under Section 11 because it is undisputed that no report was filed with the Board before the Nurses' demotion and, therefore, they could not show that Home Health demoted them in retaliation for reporting under the article. Home Health bases its argument on the definition of report found in article 4525a, section 7, the provision that applies to the permissive reporting of a licensed vocational nurse. TEX. REV.CIV. STAT. art. 4525a, § 7 (A registered nurse may file a signed, written report [with] the appropriate licensing board to report a licensed health care practitioner....). Section 11 does not require the result urged by Home Health. Home Health correctly states that the proper way to initiate disciplinary proceedings against a person who violates the Nurse Practice Act is to file a signed, written report with the appropriate licensing board. See id. But Section 11 does not deal with initiating proceedings; it provides protection for someone who is the victim of retaliation in response to reporting. Home Health's reading of Section 11 impermissibly limits protection only to those who have already actually reported under the article. Section 11 is not so narrowly written. The statute prohibits retaliation, not just against those persons who had reported under the article, but also against those reporting under the article. The conduct alleged against Home Health is precisely the type of behavior prohibited by Section 11. Home Health knew that the Nurses intended to make a report under the article and immediately demoted them because of that intent. Sidney Dauphin and Charlene Dauphin both admit that Home Health initially directed the Nurses to delay reporting Shaw and that Home Health then demoted the Nurses after the Nurses insisted on reporting. Home Health cannot escape liability for its retaliatory act simply because it was able to demote the Nurses before they made their report. Section 11 protects reporters; this protection would be significantly diluted if employers were permitted to retaliate with impunity simply by acting before the employee files a report, thus interdicting the protection afforded to the employee by a report to the nursing board. We emphasize that our ruling is governed by the narrow circumstances under which this case arose. The employee must demonstrate a causal relationship between the retaliatory action and the reporting. See Tex.Rev.Civ. Stat. art. 4525a, § 11(c). In this case, the summary judgment evidence shows that Home Health knew the Nurses intended to make an imminent report to the nursing board, that it demoted the Nurses because of their intended report, and that the Nurses filed their report shortly thereafter. Home Health misplaces reliance on City of Beaumont v. Bouillion, 896 S.W.2d 143 (Tex. 1995). In Bouillion, we considered what constitutes a report to an appropriate law enforcement authority under the Texas Whistleblower Act. Id. at 144. We held that neither holding a press conference nor making a complaint to an employer was a report that implicated the protection afforded by the Whistleblower Act. Id. at 144-46. Here, the Nurses made a report to the proper authority: the Board of Vocational Nurse Examiners. We do not suggest that informing an employer of a reportable incident is a report. It is not. See Bouillion, 896 S.W.2d at 144-46. And in this case, the Nurses do not contend that their report was to Home Health; they assert only that they informed Home Health of their intent to make a report to the proper authority and that Home Health demoted them because of that intent. In essence, Home Health argues that a bright line should be drawn requiring an employee to go directly to the proper authority before the employee receives protection. But we should not discourage an employee from informing an employer that a nurse poses a potential threat to patients. Certainly, informing one's employer of a potential threat furthers the legislative intent behind the reporting requirements and the protection afforded by Section 11: ensuring a safe and monitored system of nursing care. Consequently, we cannot fault the Nurses for attempting to work with their employer before making the formal report. Their demotion was a retaliatory act that gives rise to a cause of action under Section 11. In an effort to explain its actions, Home Health claims that it demoted the Nurses because they insisted upon reporting in their official capacities as administrators for Home Health instead of filing a report in their individual capacities. On the other hand, the Nurses claim that they told Home Health that they felt it was critical that a report be made soon and that they intended to report despite Home Health's disapproval, even if it meant reporting as individuals. Regardless, Home Health's explanation for the demotion is irrelevant. Section 11 specifically prohibits any adverse employment decision in response to reporting. TEX.REV.CIV. STAT. art. 4525a, § 11(a) (No person shall suspend, terminate, or otherwise discipline or discriminate against a person reporting, without malice, under this article.) (emphasis added). Underlying Home Health's explanation is an apparent fear that it would not have been protected from retaliation by Shaw for a false report. This fear is unfounded. Section 10(a) of article 4525a of the Texas Revised Civil Statutes provides protection against civil liability and other retaliatory action for any organization [or] agency ... that, without malice, makes a report required or permitted or reasonably believed to be required or permitted under this article or chapter. ... TEX.REV.CIV. STAT. art. 4525a, § 10(a) (emphasis added). The Nurses, all registered nurses, were permitted to make a report under section 7 of article 4525a, and Home Health, an agency or organization, was protected for this permitted report under section 10(a) of article 4525a. TEX.REV.CIV. STAT. art. 4525a, § 7; Id. § 10(a). We agree that the court of appeals correctly affirmed the trial court's summary judgment for Home Health on the Nurses' Section 6 claim. We conclude that the court of appeals erred in affirming the trial court's summary judgment for Home Health on the Nurses' Section 11 claim. An employer cannot avoid liability under Section 11 by demoting an employee knowing she intends to, but before she makes a report; the protection provided for those who make a report to the Board does not turn on which party can act faster. In order to obtain summary judgment, Home Health had to conclusively demonstrate that there was no causal relationship between the Nurses' expressed intent to report and their retaliatory action; Home Health did not make this showing. Therefore, we affirm in part and reverse in part and remand for trial on the Section 11 claim.