LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – Ruth Featherstone resigned from her job at the Southern California Permanente Medical Group back in 2013. A couple of days later, she decided she wanted her job back.
SCPMG refused to her rescind her request, saying it was not in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act. A judge on the Superior Court of Los Angeles agreed with the medical group, and Featherstone took her case to the State of California Second Appellate District, which affirmed the decision against her on April 19.
Featherstone claimed she suffered a temporary disability while working for the medical group that was caused by a “relatively uncommon side effect of the medication” she was taking in late December 2013.
The complaint said that Featherstone was in an "altered mental state" and while under the influence, she resigned her position orally and then by email.
A few days later, she contacted SCPMG, asking for her job back, but the medical group declined. Featherstone then sued, "alleging that SCPMG acted with discriminatory animus by refusing to allow her to rescind her resignation," the opinion states.
The appeals court affirmed the Superior Court decision in siding with the medical group for two reasons.
The opinion said, "SCPMG’s refusal to allow Featherstone to rescind her resignation was not an adverse employment action under the FEHA. Second, Featherstone failed to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether the SCPMG employees who accepted and promptly processed her resignation knew of her alleged temporary disability at the time they took those actions."
In its affirmation, the appeals court wrote in its opinion, "As Featherstone has not established a violation of FEHA and because FEHA does not confer on employees or applicants the right to take a medical leave, SCPMG is also entitled to judgment as a matter of law on Featherstone’s claim for wrongful termination in violation of public policy."