Opinion ID: 2197632
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Morrison's Disciplinary Suspension

Text: Morrison and the other registrars in the ECA were covered by a collective bargaining agreement, pursuant to which they were subject to progressive discipline for absenteeism, tardiness and excessive use of sick leave. Prior to the screen saver incident, Morrison was identified as a candidate for such discipline. In November 2000, hospital management commenced a three-month study to document and address time and attendance problems among the registrars. The study confirmed that problems of absenteeism, lateness, and apparent abuse of leave were widespread; in February 2001, sixteen of the nineteen registrars were counseled about the need to improve their attendance. One of those sixteen registrars was Morrison. The time and attendance study showed that from November through January, Morrison used 55 hours of unscheduled leave, which included five days (40 hours) she took off at the beginning or end of her work week. [1] On February 2 and 5, 2001, a Friday and a Monday, Morrison took an additional sixteen hours of unscheduled leave. Although Morrison charged all this time to sick leave, claiming she was genuinely ill, the pattern suggested she might have been abusing her leave in order to lengthen her weekends. In mid-February, Furline informally counseled Morrison about her attendance  the first step in progressive discipline  and referred her to the hospital's employee assistance program for a fitness-for-duty examination. The examination confirmed Morrison's ability to work without restrictions or accommodations. The following month, however, Morrison used another sixteen hours of unscheduled sick leave to take off March 5 and 19  two Mondays. Thus, over the five-month period from November through March, Morrison used a total of 87 hours of unscheduled leave, mostly by taking off Mondays or Fridays (72 hours). As Morrison already had been counseled about her attendance in February, Furline and the other two supervisors in the ECA jointly issued her a formal letter of reprimand on March 27, 2001. This letter, the next step in progressive discipline under the collective bargaining agreement, warned Morrison that if she did not show immediate improvement in her time and attendance, she would face further disciplinary actions up to and including suspension and/or termination. As Morrison emphasizes, she was given this reprimand only ten days after she complained about Furline to Zachariah. [2] The conduct that precipitated Morrison's suspension occurred in May 2001, approximately two-and-a-half months after she complained about Furline's screen saver message. Starting on May 9, the posted work schedules for the ECA showed Morrison as having to work on the Memorial Day holiday, which was Monday, May 28. Morrison objected to that duty assignment, but the work schedules, which went through several revisions over the course of the month, were not changed to give her Memorial Day off. Beginning on May 22, the posted schedules also showed Morrison as working on May 29. Nonetheless, Morrison did not report for duty at all on May 28, nor did she call in. The following morning, after Morrison again failed to check in, a co-worker called her at home and summoned her to work. Morrison called her usual ECA supervisor on the day shift, Virginia Peterson (who was at home), and spoke to Zachariah, telling them both that she had been confused and had thought she was off duty on both May 28 and 29. Furline (the supervisor on duty on May 29) and Zachariah sent her home for being absent without leave. Under the progressive discipline scheme set out in the collective bargaining agreement, the next disciplinary step after a reprimand (and before termination) was a suspension for up to five days without pay. Although the ECA supervisors were not authorized to suspend (or terminate) an employee, they could recommend such action. Such recommendations were subject to multiple layers of review and approval by upper levels of management and the Office of Human Resources. On May 29, Furline prepared a written recommendation for Morrison's suspension. Virginia Peterson and Yvonne Bracey, the third ECA supervisor, joined in submitting the recommendation, which stated the grounds for suspension as follows: The reason for this decision [to recommend suspension] is her not reporting for duty on Monday, May 28, and Tuesday, May 29, 2001. [Morrison] never phoned in stating why she would not be able to work on either day. This rendered her AWOL (Absent Without Leave). Since the beginning of May, Ms. Morrison has voiced concerns regarding being placed on the schedule for the May 28, Memorial Day holiday. On Tuesday, May 29, 2001, Ms. Morrison contacted Mrs. Virginia Peterson. Mrs. Peterson was at home ill, not on duty and not on call. However, Mrs. Peterson contacted Mr. Furline, on Ms. Morrison['s] behalf, to express that Ms. Morrison may have been confused by the schedule. Although several schedule revisions were made, Mr. Furline reminded Mrs. Peterson that Ms. Morrison has always been scheduled for duty on Monday, May 28, 2001. In light of the fact that Ms. Morrison was recently counseled regarding her time and attendance and has since acquired two (2) AWOL's, we are recommending suspension, the next step in the disciplinary process. We are requesting the maximum of five (5) days for her actions. The facts set forth in this recommendation are not in dispute. The recommendation was approved by Zachariah [3] and the Chief Financial Officer. It then was transmitted to the Assistant Director of Human Resources for decision. Pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement, the Office of Human Resources afforded Morrison a hearing on whether sufficient grounds existed to suspend her. The June 7, 2001, hearing, at which Morrison had an opportunity to speak and present evidence on her own behalf, was conducted by an employee and labor relations specialist. Morrison elected to proceed without the union representation to which she was entitled. She did not dispute the factual basis for the proposed five-day suspension or the propriety of her recent reprimand, nor did she complain of any unfair treatment by her supervisors. She did not bring up the screen saver incident or raise any claim of age discrimination or retaliation. Rather, Morrison said she simply had misread the schedule for the Memorial Day weekend. She attributed her mistake to an ambiguity in the schedules posted prior to May 22 regarding the day after Memorial Day. As she explained in her June 7 letter to the hospital's Chief Financial Officer, prior to May 22 her work schedule had the letter H (for holiday) on Tuesday, May 29, and Off in the next block (Wednesday, May 30); [k]nowing that the holiday was on Monday and the next day Tuesday, my usual off day after working the weekend, I thought I was off the (H) Holiday and off Tuesday. The facts remained, though, that Morrison always was scheduled to work on May 28, and that the ambiguity with respect to May 29 was corrected in the revised schedule issued on May 22, 2001. From then on, the schedule showed that Morrison was to be at work on both Monday and Tuesday, May 28 and 29  there was no H on either date  and Off on Wednesday, May 30. [4] Furline attended the June 7 hearing. The record does not disclose the nature of his participation, but there is no evidence that his input (if any) went beyond the undisputed facts set forth in his written recommendation. As it appears, the information adduced at the hearing was limited to Morrison's absence without leave on May 28 and 29, 2001, and her previous attendance and disciplinary record. The employee and labor relations specialist presiding over the hearing recommended Morrison's suspension go forward. [5] The Assistant Director of Human Resources approved the recommendation. The decision was ratified by the hospital's Chief Operating Officer and the Office of General Counsel. There is no evidence any of these officials knew Morrison had complained of age discrimination, or that she was subjected to different or harsher discipline than similarly situated younger employees with comparable attendance problems. [6] There likewise is no evidence that any of Morrison's superiors (other than Furline) was biased against older employees or motivated to take adverse action against Morrison for discriminatory or retaliatory reasons. Morrison's five-day suspension took effect on June 24, 2001.