A judge has ordered a former Cedars-Sinai Medical Center employee to have an arbitrator rather than a jury decide her claims that she was wrongfully fired last fall in retaliation for complaining about burnout caused by understaffing among experienced trauma personnel.
Francine Urias' Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges disability discrimination as well as failure to accommodate and engage in the interactive process. The veteran surgical technologist seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
On Tuesday, Judge Barbara Meiers signed the arbitration order after both sides agreed to have the case decided in that manner. The judge put the case on hold pending an Oct. 15 status conference.
A Cedar Sinai representative said previously that the hospital does not comment on pending litigation.
Urias has more than 20 years experience in her field. Last year, she told hospital management that she needed accommodations after being referred by CSMC to a therapist to manage the burnout caused by what the plaintiff believed was consistent understaffing and an inequitable distribution of responsibilities in the workplace, the suit states.
Urias repeatedly raised concerns to managers about the hospital's alleged failure to properly train additional staff for trauma surgeries, a critical issue for a level 1 trauma center, the suit states.
Rather than engaging with Urias to find a solution, management began subjecting her to unwarranted scrutiny and unfair job evaluations, according to her complaint brought Dec. 23.
"Despite plaintiff's repeated requests, defendant ignored her recommendations and failed to implement any meaningful changes," the suit states.
CSMC eventually made up excuses to terminate Urias with such steps as unfounded overtime allegations regarding her time records for her work in a long day of surgery, measures not taken against other employees thought to be doing similar things, the suit states.
Urias suffered from anxiety and depression throughout her employment, all of which was amplified by the understaffing, intensity of cases and pressure at work, according to the suit, which further states she has experienced both lost income and additional emotional distress since being terminated in October.