Opinion ID: 621802
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Turner’s Felony Conviction

Text: Turner was convicted in November 2002 for the felony of attempting to solicit a controlled substance by fraud. Jackson Hospital argues that Turner’s rights to reinstatement and back pay terminated upon this conviction, and that the Board erred in finding they did not. The felony conviction stemmed from Turner’s attempt to obtain Demerol for a toothache by untruthfully denying she had received Percocet for the same ailment earlier that day. Jackson Hospital argues that it would have terminated Turner for her felony conviction or for substance abuse. The administrative law judge found, and the Board agreed, that in the past Jackson Hospital had continued employment of a felon and dozens of substance abusers. Specifically, Jackson Hospital had continued the employment of an employee, Carol Hudson, who was convicted of the felony of concealing her husband’s marijuana operation while she was a Jackson Hospital employee. Jackson Hospital also continued employment of substance-abusing employees. In fact, Jackson Hospital had an Employee Assistance Program designed to help employees with substance-abuse problems. Further, as the Board notes, Turner’s situation is different from, but is not undercut by, these examples because her termination occurred two years before the felony conviction. Jackson Hospital claims its leniency in continuing Hudson’s employment after her felony conviction owed to close communication with Hudson’s attorney and probation officer; Turner did not contact Jackson Hospital to discuss continued employment because Turner was not employed by Jackson Hospital at the time of the felony. Similarly, Jackson Hospital argued that substance-abusing employees No. 10-2101 NLRB v. Jackson Hospital Corporation Page 5 in the Employee Assistance Program were allowed to continue employment because they voluntarily submitted to the program; Turner had no opportunity to submit to the program because, again, she was not employed by Jackson Hospital at the time of her misconduct. Finally, the administrative law judge found, and the Board noted, that Turner’s work as an X-ray technician did not afford her access to controlled substances, and that Jackson Hospital closely monitored controlled substances in the hospital. These facts undercut Jackson Hospital’s argument that it would not have continued to employ Turner after her conviction based on concerns about her potential future abuse of controlled substances present at the hospital. We conclude that the Board did not abuse its discretion in its conclusions regarding Turner’s felony conviction, and that substantial evidence supports the Board’s conclusion that Jackson Hospital did not meet its burden to negate back pay or reinstatement liability.