HR Strange But True

Nurse Sleeps on the Job; Then Files for Unemployment Benefits

A nurse, who was responsible for monitoring a boy with cerebral palsy while he slept, fell asleep on the job twice. Instead of being fired, the woman resigned. She filed for unemployment benefits, but her employer opposed the application.

The case. The woman was employed full-time by a nursing services company as an overnight monitor for the boy, who breathed through a ventilator and required care 24/7.

“Sleeping on the job” was among the “serious violations” listed in Shriver’s employee manual that would expose a worker to “immediate termination.” Brooke had read the manual and signed a document, acknowledging her understanding of the manual’s provisions. She also recognized that sleeping on the job would not allow her “to do [her] nursing duties and take care of the child to the best of [her] ability.”

The nurse fell asleep during her shift in August 2008 and again in February 2009. The boy’s mother knew about both incidents but only reported them to her employer in March 2009, after the nurse posted a comment online, inferring that the boy’s family was not treating her well.

The nurse applied for unemployment benefits. Initially, the Massachusetts Division of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) disqualified her on the basis that she left work voluntarily. A review examiner reversed the disqualification, saying she had been coerced to resign. The board of review and the district court affirmed. Her employer appealed.

What the court said. The Supreme Judicial Court reversed and entered judgment in favor of the employer. “The first, and dominant, circumstance is the importance of the employee’s responsibility. … [the nurse’s] assignment was to monitor the operation of life-sustaining medical equipment. The quintessential duty of that mission was alertness. It brought with it the obligation to preempt or to combat fatigue or drowsiness by such cautionary measures as adequate rest, on-the-job physical and mental exercises, safe stimulants, or calls for coverage or replacement,” the court said.

In addition, the court noted that the woman did not report any personal difficulties or hardship causing her fatigue or stress. (Shriver Nursing Services, Inc, v. Commissioner of the Division of Unemployment Assistance)

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