He Said/She said...no witnesses!

[es2dia]

L.A., CALIFORNIA

Not sure if this is the right place to post. our non-profit org services consumers with developmental disabilities and medical issues. A licensed vocational nurse (LVN) claims to have walked into and witnessed a nurse assistant (CNA) kiss a non-verbal consumer in the mouth. There are no witnesses and the consumer is unable to speak. There are no cameras.

Both LVN and CNA have been interviewed. CNA states he got close to turn the consumer around back into the consumer area because she had wandered off and believes LVN misunderstood/saw wrong. LVN is stating she knows what she saw. Both parties are very adamant about their version and both are believeable.

The CNA has been removed to a different company building 20 miles away but LVN is not satisfied as she feels other consumers might be in danger. CNA has already alluded to a lawsuit if he is terminated because he states he did nothing wrong. If LVN is right, we dont want to put others at risk, but if LVN misunderstood/saw wrong from the angle she was at, then CNA will be affected. Any suggestions on how to proceed are appreciated.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[Zigner]

Does the CNA have an actual employment contract or is the CNA a member of a union? If not, you are free to terminate. The CNA will likely be able to collect unemployment...but that's a business decision for you.

 

[es2dia]

None. CNA is under at-will employment. I am concerned about "wrongful termination" since nothing can be proven either in his favor or the complaintants.

 

[cbg]

A wrongful termination does not mean you were fired for something you didn't do; it means you were fired for a reason prohibited by law.

Google, at-will employment.

 

[tranquility]

There is a "witness", the person who walked in.

Is that enough for proof, I don't know, ask a jury. But, just for the record, an employer does not need proof. Heck, they don't need anything in an at will state.

 

[Antigone*]

I'd say that you have a greater liability keeping this fellow than you do firing him.