Reference no: EM131702145

Question: Deborah, a registered nurse, was a member of the "Blue Team" in the ER of her hospital. The team's supervising physician believed strongly that team cohesion and esprit de corps were essential to the efficient and safe functioning of the team, as if it were a well-oiled machine. To help foster this attitude among team members, the doctor annually organized an overnight outdoor "adventure." This year she arranged for the team members to go whitewater rafting together on a nearby river. During the overnight campout, the alcohol flowed liberally and teammates took part in impromptu Karaoke and skits. Deborah was dragged up from the campfire to participate with two other female team members in a raucous rendition of "Moon River," which ended with the singers "mooning" their colleagues seated around the fire. Deborah refused to bare her bottom.

Not much was said that night or the next day, but in the weeks that followed the outing, her supervisor was markedly chilly toward her. When it was time for her annual review, Deborah found that she was given a less-than-satisfactory score for "cooperation"; a few months later she was denied a promotion she expected to receive. Furthermore, her colleagues took their lead from the supervisor and became generally unfriendly to Deborah, making her day-to-day work experience highly unpleasant. She took the hint and updated her résumé. She found a job at another hospital, albeit at a reduced salary. Does Deborah have a claim of constructive discharge (i.e., that her treatment at the hands of her employer was so intolerable as to leave her no choice but to resign, thus amounting in effect to a wrongful discharge)? If so, what public policy can she claim was violated by her constructive discharge? Does the employer have a bonafide business reason with which to counter Deborah's claim?