Whittier hospital seeks dismissal of former nurse's lawsuit

WHITTIER — A lawsuit filed by a former nurse at PIH Health Whittier Hospital Whittier, alleging she was discriminated against and then terminated in 2021 because she objected on religious grounds to being tested for the coronavirus, should be dismissed for a lack of triable issues, the facility's attorneys argue in new court papers.

Lilia Acevedo-Cosio's Norwalk Superior Court lawsuit alleges wrongful termination, retaliation, discrimination and failure to prevent discrimination and retaliation. The 44-year-old Whittier woman seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages as well as an injunction directing PIH not to engage in future discrimination against employees.

Hospital attorneys filed a motion for dismissal of the suit on June 12 in which they deny the nurse suffered discrimination. They say PIH "worked tirelessly to accommodate Acevedo-Cosio's inexcusable refusal to simply test for COVID during the height of the pandemic," forcing the hospital to accept her resignation.

"Importantly, despite plaintiff's willful insubordination during this time period, PIH did not terminate her," hospital lawyers further maintain in their court papers. "Rather, after it granted plaintiff's request to be exempt from the vaccine mandate due to her religious convictions, PIH only required her to test for COVID, as mandated by the California Department of Public Health."

Acevedo-Cosio refused to test and appeared for her regular shift "in defiance of the CDPH health orders and PIH's directives," and she refused to answer her supervisors when asked if she had tested, PIH attorneys state in their court papers.

When asked to leave because she refused to answer her supervisors' questions and provided no evidence that she had tested, Acevedo-Cosio called her attorney and she told her bosses that she would continue her shift unless security escorted her out, the hospital lawyers maintain in their court papers.

PIH gave Acevedo-Cosio the chance to work remotely, which would not have required coronavirus testing, but she refused the hospital's offer, the hospital attorneys state in their court papers. A hearing on the hospital's dismissal motion is scheduled Aug. 24.

According to her suit, Acevedo-Cosio was hired by PIH in April 2004 and excelled over the years in case manager roles, earning significant respect and admiration from colleagues, according to the suit. She volunteered for overtime shifts and was given a raise in November 2018 that was about three times higher than those given others, according to the complaint.

In August 2021, the CEO of PIH said that all employees had to be vaccinated by Oct. 1 of that year and those unvaccinated would have to wear an indication on their employment badge identifying their exemption status -- a rule that also had the effect of singling out unvaccinated employees, the suit states.

All unvaccinated and partially unvaccinated workers were ordered to wear an N95 mask both in the hospital and in PIH clinical facilities, the suit filed in June 2022 states.

The prospect of having to get vaccinated, which Acevedo-Cosio objected to on religious grounds, caused her to have heart palpitations and anxiety attacks, so she want on medical leave in August 2021, the suit states. Her religious exemption was approved insofar as having to take the vaccine, but she was still ordered to be tested and told that failing to comply would cause her to be removed from the work schedule and disciplined, according to the suit.

The next month, the hospital released a discipline procedure for unvaccinated employees that started with a written warning and could escalate to termination, the suit states. When Acevedo-Cosio returned from medical leave and the hospital staff was unsatisfied with her explanation regarding testing, she was placed on unpaid leave even though the hospital policy said discipline started with a written warning, according to her suit.

"For her own safety, plaintiff called security and was escorted out of PIH," according to the suit, which further states that Acevedo-Cosio was terminated on Nov. 15, 2021.