95.3 / 88.5 FM Grand Rapids and 95.3 FM Muskegon
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Whistleblower Act up for debate in Michigan Supreme Court

radicalcompliance.com

The Michigan Supreme Court is considering whether conversations with an attorney trigger the Whistleblowers’ Protection Act.

A nurse at the MidMichigan Medical Center in Alma found herself in hot water after she told her lawyer about a patient at the hospital.

A judge had granted Tammy McNeill-Marks a personal protection order, against another woman. When that woman showed up as a patient at the hospital, McNeill-Marks told her lawyer. 

Sarah Willey  is the hospital’s attorney. She says the Whistleblower law does not trump patient privacy laws.

“That from an employer’s standpoint is a significant concern and goes beyond what the intent of the Whistleblower Protection Act means.”

A lower court sided with the nurse and against the hospital.