Defending Employers in Medical Practices: What to Do Before an Employee Claim is Filed
Owning and operating a medical practice is complicated. A wide range of issues can arise. Employee complaints have the potential to be amongst the most damaging to employers. A fair, unbiased and proactive approach is a must. Lynnette Ariathurai is a California business lawyer who helps medical practices protect their interests before claims are filed. Here, our California employment attorney for preventing claims provides a step by step guide to what medical practices can do before an employee claim is filed.
Step 1: Accept the Complaint, Evaluate it, and Ensure Patient Care Does Not Suffer
Medical practices should start by classifying the complaint. Does it allege harassment, discrimination, retaliation, wage and hour violations, leave, safety violations, or another type of issue? It is important to understand what is being alleged. Medical practices should flag anything that could involve protected activity, protected leave, or protected class status. They should also flag anything that could implicate patient records, EMR access, or patient communications. Patient care cannot be allowed to suffer while the complaint is being addressed.
Step 2: Make Sure that Sensitive Patient Information is Protected
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) strictly protects the confidentiality of patient medical information. If the employee complaint involves charts, messages, photos, recordings, or access logs, restrict access on a need-to-know basis. Medical practices should not circulate screenshots and they should not “share for context” in group chats. Instead, they should preserve audit trails for EMR access and messaging systems. If you use outside HR or counsel, plan how you will disclose records as appropriate.
Step 3: Consider a Litigation Hold Tailored to Medical Systems
Medical practices facing an employee complaint in California may want to send a written preservation notice. Among other things, it can include email, texts, scheduling platforms, EMR audit logs, call recordings, camera footage, and patient messaging tools. You should coordinate with your EHR vendor if the system overwrites logs on a short cycle.
Step 4: Implement Interim Measures as Appropriate Without Punishing the Employee
You can adjust schedules, supervision, or patient assignments to reduce conflict while you investigate. However, medical practices should strictly document the business reason for doing so. It is important to avoid any appearance of retaliation. Things like pay cuts, hour reductions, or punitive reassignments could be an independent violation of the law. In other words, retaliation could give an employee the ability to bring an additional claim.
Step 5: Choose an Investigator Who Understands Medical Operations
A fair, comprehensive, unbiased, proactive investigation of an employee complaint is required. Medical practices should pick someone who is fair and reasonable, and can interview clinicians and staff without getting pulled into clinical debates. If the complaint involves a physician owner, a lead MA, or a practice manager, it is strongly recommended to consider an outside investigator.
Step 6: Be Ready to Get Professional Legal Representation
Employee complaints are complicated. Knowing what to do before a complaint is formally filed can go a long way to protecting the best interests of the medical practices. An experienced California employment lawyer for employers can review your case, answer your questions, and help you develop a strategy to resolve the matter most effectively.
Contact Our California Employment Lawyer for Medical Practices Today
Lynnette Ariathurai is a California employment attorney who has the knowledge and experience that medical practices can rely on. We put employers first. If you have any questions about what to do before an employee claim is filed against your medical practice, please do not hesitate to contact us today. With an office in Fremont, we provide employment law services to medical practices throughout the Bay Area of California.
Employee claims, employee discrimination claim, employee harassment claim, employee retaliation claim