A former Yale New Haven (Conn.) Hospital employee filed a lawsuit against the hospital's parent company in March, alleging she was wrongfully terminated and that her First Amendment rights and state constitutional free speech rights were violated in the process, according to the New Haven Register.
Here are seven things to know about the case.
1. Jill Grewcock, 37, worked as a clinical bed manager at the hospital from February 2011 until she was fired on April 10, 2015, according to her March 22 lawsuit against the hospital's parent company, Yale New Haven Health. During her tenure at the institution, she went on maternity leave and returned Dec. 16, 2013.
2. Upon returning from maternity leave, Ms. Grewcock said she "pumped breast milk in her office without incident and with the consent of all persons in her work area" for roughly one year, the lawsuit states. She said she needed to pump at the office because her position as clinical bed manager "required her to be on call at a minute's notice in case of emergencies," among other reasons, according to the report.
3. Ms. Grewcock said in the lawsuit she was confronted by hospital officials and told to pump breast milk in a lactation room. However, Ms. Grewcock claimed the room was located farther away from her workspace. She began using a nearby restroom to pump breast milk, but was told by a supervisor she could no longer do so. In March 2015, Ms. Grewcock's physician reportedly wrote a letter to her supervisor asking that Ms. Grewcock be allowed to pump milk in her office. However, the request "lead [sic] ... to further hostility" toward Ms. Grewcock by her supervisors, the lawsuit alleged.
4. Hospital officials claimed Ms. Grewcock was terminated because she violated HIPAA by inappropriately accessing a patient's medical record, the report states.
5. In December 2017, Ms. Grewcock accused Yale New Haven Health of sex discrimination in a federal lawsuit. However, a jury ruled in favor of the institution March 9. On March 22, Ms. Grewcock filed a second lawsuit against the health system claiming wrongful termination, partly based on "statements made by employees of the hospital [during the federal trial] that … in our opinion, were violations of the law," lawyers on behalf of Ms. Grewcock said. Those statements included accusations Ms. Grewcock violated HIPAA.
6. In her most recent lawsuit, Ms. Grewcock alleged hospital administrators caused her "severe emotional distress and bodily harm including sleeplessness, loss of appetite and depression … loss of marital relations, family discord, humiliation, loss of purpose, loss of self esteem and loss of enjoyment of life," according the report. She also alleged the hospital violated its own breastfeeding policies, as well as a state law permitting breastfeeding in the workplace.
7. In a statement to the New Haven Register, a Yale New Haven Health spokesperson said, "Yale New Haven Hospital is confident that the State Court will reaffirm the Federal Court jury's decision in favor of the hospital. We do not believe this lawsuit has merit and will continue to vigorously defend it."
To access the full report, click here.