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INGLEWOOD (CNS) - A nurse has dropped his lawsuit against Providence Health System-Southern California in which he alleged he was wrongfully fired in 2022 for complaining about sexually oriented misconduct by a co-worker and for requesting sick pay for time off taken when he had the coronavirus.
Attorneys for Jason Andrada filed court papers on Tuesday with Inglewood Superior Court Judge Ronald F. Frank asking that the plaintiff's wrongful termination/retaliation case be dropped "with prejudice," meaning it cannot be refiled. The court papers do not state if a settlement was reached or if Andrada was not pursuing the case for other reasons.
Andrada was hired in October 2020 as an operating room nurse at Little Company of Mary Providence Medical Center in Torrance, the suit stated. He consistently received good performance reviews until he "blew the whistle" on a co-worker who was creating a hostile work environment, according to the suit.
The other employee, a male surgical technician, often made offensive sexually oriented comments at work around co-workers, patients and visitors, the suit stated. In June 2022, Andrada complained to human resources about the worker's alleged misconduct, additionally saying that the technician showed co- workers sexually explicit pictures on his mobile phone while speaking poorly about women.
However, the surgical technician's inappropriate behavior continued, the suit filed April 19 stated.
In July 2022, Andrada had a high fever with other COVID-19 symptoms and took time off, but he had to ask for sick leave he was entitled to when he returned to work the next month, according to the suit.
Also in August 2022, Andrada was investigated for time card fraud for allegedly checking out 10 to 15 minutes late from his shift on the time clock, the suit stated.
"This scrutiny only started after plaintiff complained about the hostile work environment and not getting his paid sick leave," the suit stated.
During a meeting with management over the time card issue, Andrada's department head allegedly treated him with disdain and at one point Andrada became so frustrated he "mentioned that he would resign his employment."
In late August 2022, Andrada's supervisor notified him by email that he was "effectively fired," that his resignation was being accepted and that "no further shifts worked are necessary. Thank you for your service to Little Company of Mary," the suit stated.
Andrada filed a grievance to get his job back, but it was denied last November, according to the suit, which further alleges that the plaintiff's complaints about his denial of sick pay and about the alleged misconduct of the surgical technician were contributing factors in his firing.
Andrada suffered financial losses, emotional distress and harm to his reputation because of his firing, according to the suit.