Facts

Malissa White was employed as a nurse by Rockport Administrative Services, LLC. White was assigned to provide services at the Country Villa South nursing home beginning in March 2018. In August 2018, White was promoted to the role of Minimum Data Set Nurse, which meant she was responsible for assessing all residents on Medicare and providing a standardized assessment of their health needs. In May 2019, White resigned, and on October 8, 2019, she filed suit against Rockport.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: The plaintiff contended that she initially enjoyed her promotion to MDS Nurse, but in February 2019, she began witnessing illegal activity performed by others at the facility. Specifically, the plaintiff contended that the defendant admitted Medicare patients using fraudulent, pre-signed, blank forms; that staff joked in WhatsApp threads about submitting fraudulent forms; that she was asked to falsify documents and records; that she saw others falsifying those same documents; and that she was encouraged to try to collect improper fees from Medicare. Moreover, the plaintiff contended that she reported these violations anonymously via email in February and March 2019 to the Department of Public Health; and that she reported these matters internally to corporate compliance. The plaintiff further contended that after she made these reports, her supervisor began to treat her differently, allegedly getting angry over small mistakes and making a derogatory comment. Plaintiff contended she reported the alleged retaliation in March 2019. The plaintiff finally contended that the stress of the situation was too much to handle, and she resigned on May 13, 2019, because of it. The plaintiff contended as a result of all of this, she was entitled to recover for intentional infliction of emotional distress; retaliation; and employment discrimination.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendant denied any wrongdoing or liability and all the plaintiff's material allegations. The defendant specifically denied any knowledge of any criminal activity, including Medicare fraud, at the Country Villa South facility.

Result

A jury found in favor of White and awarded her $1.2 million in damages.