Photo Credit: Mironov Konstantin
Dr. MedLaw addresses physicians’ questions regarding medical law, providing guidance in this article to a clinician experiencing employment breach of contract.
Clinician: I was upfront about my diabetes when interviewing with a pediatrics group. The group hired me, and I relocated. I just needed to pay for a tail for my prior job and had time to do so. HR at the new job then sprang a surprise drug test on me, and I was unable to comply because of my diabetic bladder issues. I brought in a note from my doctor the next day explaining the issue, took the test, and passed. Then I got a call from the managing partner who said there was nothing to worry about regarding the drug test, but the contract was being “terminated” because I hadn’t presented proof that I had bought the tail. I think they got worried about my diabetes as a work issue and that this was a smokescreen for an ADA violation.
Dr. MedLaw: Although this may be an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) case at its core, as of now, it is about a contract breach. They breached the contract in attempting to evade a statutory violation. That you had to show that the tail was covered was baked into the contractual cake when they hired you, but you had not exceeded a required date to do so and were also not in anticipatory breach by telling them that you would not be able to do only. You were, therefore, still in full compliance with the contract.
The manner of the breach—rescission—was then unavailable to them. Termination is a mutual process intended to return both parties to where they were before the contract. That is fine for them because before the contract, they had an empty job slot they would have again, but you have now been left in a new location without employment.
Like many medical employment contracts, yours probably contains a liquidated damages clause—a standard one is one year’s salary—just for breaching the employment. They are probably trying to avoid that kicking in by claiming you were at fault. Before plunging into a federal discrimination claim under the ADA, look into a state law contract claim.
Read Dr. Medlaw’s prior Q&A column regarding navigating the complexities of a salary structure shift, and watch for Dr. MedLaw’s next column, in which she breaks down compensation clauses.
