Canceled contract

[perfexion, ASN, RN]

I got into it with a charge nurse. She accused me of doing something I didn't do and I stood up for myself. I had to have a big meeting with the nurse manager and I thought everything was resolved. Then I got a call from my recruiter this morning saying my contract was cancelled and not to go into work tonight. My question is, will I still incur all the penalties of not completing a contract, ie. paying my housing stipend back?

[NedRN]

Depends on stuff. Like if you have worked for this agency for a while, why they think you were terminated (for cause or not), general agency attitude, whether they are having a bad a day as you, and so on.

Understand that your termination was righteous even if the charge nurse was completely wrong. It is easier to dismiss a traveler than have a charge nurse feel undermined by her manager. I would do the same thing if I was the manager, and counsel the charge nurse to correct her behavior. If you can get that, you will be more professional with your agency, and perhaps avoid that kind of confrontation in the future.

So I would personally be very apologetic with your agency and take responsibility for what happened. After all, this incident has damaged their reputation with their client hospital. Ask them if they are still willing to work with you, even if you have no intention of continuing.

Damages should only be based on actual costs the agency has incurred, such as housing leased for you. What they can do should be specified in the contract but is usually rather vague. Some agencies will (usually illegally) withhold your last paycheck, and sometimes (very illegally) reverse the prior direct deposit. If that happens, you may be able to get relief from the state labor board. The agency can also sue you for contractual damages, or bill you and then send it out for collection.

None of these things sound very appealing, right? That is why you have to take the extra effort to play nice with them even if you were wronged.

[perfexion, ASN, RN]

Do I have any rights as a traveler? I already told my clinical liason and she said it sounds like a retaliation thing. As a traveler is there such a thing as wrongful termination?

[NedRN]

There is a well established employment law precedent for just cause for termination. That could be what any lawsuit will boil down to in a civil suit barring any at-will language in your contract. If your contract does contain at-will language then your rights of redress are will be limited.

You may may still be able to recover damages but it will be difficult. Both your contract and the agency/hospital contract will be a factor. You would not even get to see the latter until the discovery phase of a legal process to evaluate your chances.

But really, it is not worth considering a lawsuit. Almost never worth it and almost always undertaken for emotional reasons, not rational ones. I'd suggest moving in and trying to forget about it.