Canceled contract

PetsToPeople · May 18, 2012

What do you mean by who pays you? Are they refusing to pay you for the day you worked? And you said that you did not forget the vitals yet you did not record them? Still, it is crazy that you would be fired for such a small thing after having what you say is a good work record with them, that's sad, sorry you are having all this trouble!

79Tango · May 18, 2012

Im sure you are ****** but you might want to let this one go. It is a strong possibilty the hospital fired you & the staffing company is choosing to just employ you somewhere else.

Ive seen people fired and reported for what you described.. I guess it depends on how "she wrote them in for you." Either way, if your company is still willing to work with you it might not be a good to cause problems for them.

chicagotoots · May 19, 2012

let it go ... there are worst things that can happen then getting a contract cancelled. It may have been just an excuse to get rid of a travel nurse and they seized the moment. Let your company find a new assignment for you and move on and let it be a warning to you.. travel nurses are under intense monitoring not only by managers but coworkers.. what is fine for the core staff, will not be fine for the traveler. Good luck.

dorie43rn · May 19, 2012

Ok, but why should I let a legal contract that they broke unfounded go? If I broke the contract you can bet they wouldn't let it go. After talking with my companys nurse, they are most definately going to find I was not at fault. I understand now that my company should pay me the rest of the contract, and go after the hospital, which is what they might do, and not staff that hospital anymore. A contract is a legal binding paper and they have no proof I did anything wrong because I didn't. What would stop any hospital from canceling if we let them just get away with it? Sounds dumb to me and I will not let it go even if I get another contract. I worked very hard at that place under dangerous cicumstances, and they are not going to nit pick me out of a contract, sorry. I may give up traveling if it is that easy to cancel a contract.

BearishBob · May 20, 2012

I'm sorry you got cancelled, it can be a real kick in the teeth when you're doing a good job under horrific conditions only to get let go. You deserve better.

Realistically though, you probably got cancelled for reasons other than your nursing. The administration may have decided too late that you were too expensive to keep and was just looking for any reason to fire you. I think its a tribute to your nursing skill and documentation that they only thing they could get you on was a late entry set of vital signs.

Thats not fair, but its the ugly side of travel nursing. So now, your only two choices are: Let it go and try to get immediate placement with your agency somewhere else or sue the hospital for the full contract amount. Your agency is not going to support you in your lawsuit. The agency's customer is the hospital, not you. Thats another ugly truth.

Try and let go of the anger. Do a bit of research on who owns the hospital and vow to never work for them again at any facility. Tell other travelers your story and how the hospital did you wrong. Eventually these places get a bad rep and cant even find a traveler willing to go.

Good luck to you.

NedRN · May 20, 2012

Your analysis is excellent as far as it goes. Your contract is with the agency, not the hospital. So your primary recourse is with the agency. Unfortunately most agency contracts contain "at-will" language that means they do not need a reason to terminate the contract. The language is there specifically to protect themselves for what could otherwise be a winning lawsuit for breach of contract by a traveler. I think you will find the agency changing their tune quite quickly if you threaten legal action about who is at fault. Ultimately it is the hospital who decides.

Yes, the agency could also sue the hospital for the balance of the contract (their contract is a real one, no at-will language). In real life, a lot gets in the way. Lawsuits are expensive compared to the returns. Agencies don't want a reputation for being litigious. Most of any settlement would have to be paid to you so there is little incentive for the agency unless you undertake the similar and expensive legal against them.

That is even without considering the merits of the lawsuit in the first place. The hospital will say they terminated you for cause and may even lie and use HIPAA as an excuse to not produce evidence. In ordinary employee lawsuits like this there is a standard called "just cause". This standard has a rich legal history to separate minor complaints such as a single instance of tardiness requiring counseling, and those complaints rising to immediate termination, such as sexual harassment. A single missed documentation error cannot reasonably require immediate termination so something else is going on. You may not be able to ever discover the real reason though. Since your agency has a CNO, she may be able to discern what happened. No matter what, I understand the blow you received.

You are able to sue the hospital directly if you wish. You might want to talk to an employment lawyer about your chances. I would suggest using their association to find one at nela dot org. You can sort their experience by "employment contracts" in advanced search. You should be able to land a free phone consult.

I have successfully sued a hospital for the balance of my contract - for the bill rate, not my pay rate. There was a technical point involved that gave me standing to sue. But the real reason I succeeded was that the facts were agreed and cut and dried. They fired me for not having a perm license and I had a valid temp. Plus I was really mad - the major reason to sue. Even so, it was a long road and I would think 10 times before doing it again. Especially when the reason for termination is uncertain and you have an agency contract with at-will language.

Good luck, but I recommend moving on (which you are doing by seeking work - you should consider immediately filing for unemployment as well). Not being dinged by your agency is good enough not to stir the pot further. On a related subject, I always get an evaluation filled out as early in an assignment as I can. Decent forms are available on PanTravelers dot org. Doing so makes any claim of incompetence much harder for the hospital in a court of law, or before the state board. By the way, pursuing a lawsuit makes it more likely that a bad acting hospital or manager will report you to the board for something spurious that will make things harder for you.

BearishBob · May 20, 2012

Congrats on winning your case Ned. Im just curious how long it took to get a settlement? Did the hospital try and retaliate? Not arguing points, just curious how nasty agency hospitals can get and how to protect myself?

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · May 20, 2012

Ok, but why should I let a legal contract that they broke unfounded go? If I broke the contract you can bet they wouldn't let it go. After talking with my company's nurse, they are most definitely going to find I was not at fault. I understand now that my company should pay me the rest of the contract, and go after the hospital, which is what they might do, and not staff that hospital anymore. A contract is a legal binding paper and they have no proof I did anything wrong because I didn't. What would stop any hospital from canceling if we let them just get away with it? Sounds dumb to me and I will not let it go even if I get another contract. I worked very hard at that place under dangerous circumstances, and they are not going to nit pick me out of a contract, sorry. I may give up traveling if it is that easy to cancel a contract.

I'm sorry but........It is that easy to break a contract. There is a clause that if your performance is unsatisfactory, for any reason, the contract may be voided by the facility. Someone else chartered vital signs on your patient, were they even the correct vital signs? It is simple....failure to follow the hospitals policy and procedure regarding........unprofessional conduct..........fasle/inaccurate documentation, for beginners . I am not saying this is what happened but this is what they will document.

You are outside contracted expensive help. They have to loyalty to you. In this day and age hospitals that use a lot of travelers are in the middle of no where or there is a real good reason they can't get and keep their own help. Choose your battles carefully. "Reputation" travel quickly amongst facilities. You are "temporary" contracted employment. They have an out....if not specified with your contract per se, it is in the contract that is signed with the facility. As a traveler you'll be under scrutiny at alltime and attempts will be made to make you a scapegoat at times. Tread lightly.

:hug:I know you are upset. But your agency believes you........ who give a rats Bah two tee what they think........ those people mean nothing to you....move on!!!!!

NedRN · May 20, 2012

BearishBob: Nope, no retaliation. Not sure what they could do - not hire me if I ever applied there again? Only hours before the termination, they agreed verbally to extend me!

But there are certainly some bad acting hospitals and bad faith reporting to a state board can certainly harm a career. If that happens, a lawyer is mandatory. Texas is where I've heard I've heard the most stories coming from, and they have a board that will ding you unreasonably for trivial stuff - IMO. It's best not to get reported, and never work in Texas!

Legal insurance might be worth it. PanTravelers paying members get free legal help to assist them with contract disputes with agencies, and that has paid off for a number of travelers.

dorie43rn · May 21, 2012

Thanks for all the very useful information. I guess I will give up the idea of a lawyer, mainly because, IM BROKE! Thats why it is so unfair to me. I did nothing wrong, but i'm now out of a paycheck. I know you are supposed to save for this situation, but I've only done it 5 weeks! I had bills, and things to buy!

I still want to know what stops all hospitals from doing this if there is no consequences? I'm awaiting a call from my recruiter on the verdict. I let you all know when I found out.

This hospital, after realizing their blood pressure thing was dumb, went on to say I forgot a blood sugar check,(I didn't) and 15 minute after the first 15 minute vitals after hanging blood. Never taking in the fact I was off the floor taking a patient to CT scan because there was no help there. BUT, I did the JACHO listed blood vitals needed.

And how do I clear my name? It is the computer generation, and this could be out there on my record.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · May 21, 2012

Bearish Bob: Nope, no retaliation. Not sure what they could do - not hire me if I ever applied there again? Only hours before the termination, they agreed verbally to extend me!
But there are certainly some bad acting hospitals and bad faith reporting to a state board can certainly harm a career. If that happens, a lawyer is mandatory. Texas is where I've heard I've heard the most stories coming from, and they have a board that will ding you unreasonably for trivial stuff - IMO. It's best not to get reported, and never work in Texas!
Legal insurance might be worth it. PanTravelers paying members get free legal help to assist them with contract disputes with agencies, and that has paid off for a number of travelers.

PLEASE get your own malpractice....it is cheap and will save your bum. I use CNO. NUrses have been and always will be the first thrown under the bus and hospitals have been behaving badly for years now. It's like homeowners insurance....you don't want your house to burn down but if it does it's better to be insured.

It provides license protection/representation as well.

I've heard Arizona is pretty bizarre as well.