Holmes Judith H
Judith Holmes & Associates, LLC, 7887 E. Belleview Suite 1100, Englewood, CO 80111, USA.
Pain Physician. 2004 Jan;7(1):161-8.
A malpractice claim or suit can have a devastating effect on a physician's practice and personal life. What is often overlooked is that an employment-related suit or EEOC charge also can extract a heavy toll, personally, professionally, and financially. The number of employment-related suits and claims has risen dramatically in the last few years. According to recent enforcement and litigation statistics released by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) (1), the total discrimination charges filed by individuals against their employers increased last year to 80,840--the highest level since the mid-1990's. According to the EEOC data, in 2001, employers paid $248 million in connection with charges of discrimination filed with the EEOC by job applicants, employees, and former employees. Employers paid an additional $47 million to the EEOC in connection with lawsuits filed against employers by the EEOC (2). This does not include the millions of dollars employers were forced to pay in settlements, judgments, costs, and attorney's fees incurred in connection with employment-related lawsuits filed in state and federal courts during the same period of time. Employment-related litigation is on the rise, and the healthcare industry is not immune. Physicians as employers can be a target for a wide range of employment-related claims and suits, such as breach of contract, invasion of privacy, sex, race, age, religious and age discrimination, and negligent hiring, just to name a few. The number of jury verdicts rendered against employers is increasing and the verdict awards are often staggering. In addition, defending these suits can be as expensive as defending a complicated malpractice suit. Even worse, employment discrimination suits and charges are generally not covered by malpractice, D & O, or general liability insurance policies, leaving the physician to cope with the financial burden of judgments, settlements, attorney's fees and litigation costs. Most employment-related disputes that lead to costly litigation would never have arisen if the employer had implemented more effective employment practices. Hiring mistakes in particular cause many costly legal battles. This article identifies legal issues that precipitate litigation and suggests ten steps physicians can take to implement lawful hiring practices that will reduce the risk of costly employment suits while improving office efficiency, morale, and productivity. NOTE: This article is intended as an overview of lawful hiring strategies, and is not a substitute for legal advice from experienced employment counsel. Applicable laws vary from state to state and appropriate procedures may depend on specific factual situations. This article is not, and should not be construed as, legal advice.
医疗事故索赔或诉讼可能会对医生的业务和个人生活产生毁灭性影响。人们常常忽视的是，与就业相关的诉讼或平等就业机会委员会（EEOC）的指控也会在个人、职业和经济方面造成沉重代价。在过去几年中，与就业相关的诉讼和索赔数量急剧上升。根据美国平等就业机会委员会（EEOC）发布的最新执法和诉讼统计数据（1），去年个人对雇主提出的歧视指控总数增至80,840起，这是自20世纪90年代中期以来的最高水平。根据EEOC的数据，2001年，雇主就求职者、员工和前员工向EEOC提出的歧视指控支付了2.48亿美元。雇主还就EEOC对雇主提起的诉讼向EEOC额外支付了4700万美元（2）。这还不包括雇主在同一时期因在州和联邦法院提起的与就业相关的诉讼而被迫支付的数百万美元和解金、判决金、费用和律师费。与就业相关的诉讼正在增加，医疗行业也未能幸免。作为雇主的医生可能会成为各种与就业相关的索赔和诉讼的目标，如违反合同、侵犯隐私、性别、种族、年龄、宗教和年龄歧视以及疏忽雇佣等等。针对雇主的陪审团裁决数量在增加，而且裁决赔偿金额往往惊人。此外，为这些诉讼辩护的费用可能与为复杂的医疗事故诉讼辩护一样高昂。更糟糕的是，就业歧视诉讼和指控通常不在医疗事故保险、董事及高级职员责任保险或一般责任保险范围内，这使得医生要应对判决、和解、律师费和诉讼费用的经济负担。如果雇主实施了更有效的就业做法，大多数导致代价高昂诉讼的与就业相关的纠纷本就不会发生。特别是招聘失误引发了许多代价高昂的法律纠纷。本文确定了引发诉讼的法律问题，并提出了医生可以采取的十个步骤，以实施合法的招聘做法，从而降低代价高昂的就业诉讼风险，同时提高办公室效率、士气和生产力。注意：本文旨在概述合法的招聘策略，并非替代经验丰富的就业顾问提供的法律建议。适用法律因州而异，适当的程序可能取决于具体事实情况。本文不是也不应被解释为法律建议。
