Birch v. John Muir Health, decided Tuesday by California Court of Appeal Justice Carin Fujisaki, joined by Alison Tucher & Ioana Petrou, stems from JMH's firing Birch "based on Birch's purported violations of JMH's polices against harassment and discrimination." The trial court granted summary judgment for JMH on Birch's claims for, among other things, discrimination and defamation, but the appellate court reversed. An excerpt from the long opinion:
In March 2003, Birch, a Filipina woman, began working for JMH as a registered nurse. Two years later, after earning a certificate in wound and ostomy care, she worked full-time on JMH's Skin Wound Assessment Team ("SWAT")…. From 2017 to 2019, Birch consistently received favorable performance reviews, with managers acknowledging her as a "subject matter expert" who exhibited passion, dedication, teamwork, and strong leadership skills….
In June 2019, Rachel Daniels ("Daniels"), a Black woman, began working as a per diem nurse on JMH's SWAT team. Daniels and Birch occasionally worked shifts together at the Concord Medical Center and initially enjoyed an amicable working relationship. [But the relationship soured in early 2020; for more details on the factual backstory, see the opinion. -EV]
The Court of Appeal held that Birch's discrimination claim can go forward:
