Fired for Refusing an Assignment

[Nurse Beth, MSN]

Hi Nurse Beth,

Thank you for your time. I recently accepted a contract at a hospital in Texas. I've been working there for almost 2 months. It is hard work but I am used to hard work and do not mind being busy at all. They float me to different floors and I have been fine but there is a floor that is especially difficult. This floor is by far the hardest and most dangerous I've worked on and I have been a med/surg nurse for 7 years.

They've had over 50 falls just in the past few months. I just found out that I am expecting and I went in that morning and I had been assigned to that floor. The ratio was 4:1 with no CNAs. I have worked with that grid on that floor and I barely made it. I miscarried my last pregnancy and I am certain that the amount of stress and physical labor without any help from a CNA would put me at risk for another miscarriage. So I refused the assignment. I told the charge nurse that I would not accept an assignment without a CNA. She said "We will help you."

I have worked with this charge nurse before and she is not helpful at all. When I have asked her for help in the past I have gotten a very bad attitude and when she went in the room with me she wasn't much help. I refused the assignment and went home. The facility has terminated me and is filing a Do Not Return against me. In hindsight I know I should have called the House Supervisor. I panicked and at the time did not think of it. It was a very difficult thing for me to do and I left in tears. My question is can they terminate me for refusing an assignment that would put my pregnancy at risk? Can I or should I argue this? Thank you .

Dear Fired,

Texas is an  At-Will state , meaning that your employment can be terminated at any time, without warning and without cause. You have a contract, and you could always consult a lawyer to see if it was a wrongful termination according to your contract, but keep in mind a legal battle could be costly and stressful.

Even in At-Will states, there are illegal reasons for termination. Federal law trumps state law and is designed to prevent employees from being discriminated against for national origin, race, gender, age, disability, or pregnancy. In your case, there was no prejudice or discrimination- you were fired because you refused your assignment, even after help was offered.

I'm sorry for your miscarriage, and obviously you believed in the moment that you were doing the right thing. Your feelings and fear took over and you were taken by surprise.  But moving forward, you need to have a more definable definition of what precisely puts your pregnancy at risk. 

See your doctor and ask if work restrictions are in order to safeguard your pregnancy. A work restriction might include a lifting restriction, such as "May not lift > 10 lbs" or it might include "May not be on feet >8 hours" but it's doubtful it would be "May not work without a nursing assistant".

Best wishes and good health,

Nurse Beth