Opinion ID: 172871
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Garcetti's Prong Five Employer Would Have Taken Same Action Against The Employee in the Absence of the Protected Speech

Text: The Defendants also have established that alternate grounds under the fifth prong of Garcetti that they would have taken the same actions against Dr. Couch even in the absence of Dr. Couch's speech. See Brammer-Hoelter, 492 F.3d at 1203. As already noted, the hospital's actions followed a familiar course of proceedings: independent outside review and then internal review, recommendations, and corrective action to address issues documented by the outside review. Here, the hospital responded appropriately to serious allegations concerning interpersonal employee conflicts, billing fraud, and inadequate patient care. The hospital's investigations were entirely appropriate; and the hospital's corrective actions were reasonable and based on the recommendations of those investigations. Therefore, the defendants have established the fifth Garcetti prong.