ENTtoday
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • Practice Focus
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Departments
    • Issue Archive
    • TRIO Best Practices
      • Allergy
      • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
      • Head and Neck
      • Laryngology
      • Otology/Neurotology
      • Pediatric
      • Rhinology
      • Sleep Medicine
    • Career Development
    • Case of the Month
    • Everyday Ethics
    • Health Policy
    • Legal Matters
    • Letter From the Editor
    • Medical Education
    • Online Exclusives
    • Practice Management
    • Resident Focus
    • Rx: Wellness
    • Special Reports
    • Tech Talk
    • Viewpoint
    • What’s Your O.R. Playlist?
  • Literature Reviews
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Events
    • Featured Events
    • TRIO Meetings
  • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
    • Triological Society
    • Advertising Staff
    • Subscribe
  • Advertise
    • Place an Ad
    • Classifieds
    • Rate Card
  • Search

Lawyers Tell Physicians How to Protect Themselves from the Pitfalls of Employment

by Margot Fromer • February 1, 2008

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version

WASHINGTON, DC-More often than not, today’s medical offices are businesses employing numerous staff people, as well as other physicians. In a seminar at the recent annual meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, panelists described the many legal pitfalls of employing people in a medical office. Most of them revolved around accusations and charges of discrimination-which often appear difficult to avoid.

You Might Also Like

  • Employment Contracts Need to Ensure Physicians are Free Agents
  • How Reasonable Non-Compete Clauses Can Protect Your Practice
  • Part-Time Work Appeals to Increasing Number of Physicians
  • Anatomy of a Noncompetition Clause: Now’s the time to review your employment contract
Explore This Issue
February 2008

You Can Hardly Say Anything Anymore

Sally Garr, JD, a partner in the Washington, DC, law firm of Patton Boggs and Chair of its Employment Law Group, spent more than a half-hour describing the many ways in which an employer can be sued for discrimination-and the many ways in which he or she can lose the case.

Although some of the examples she presented were more relevant to academic institutions and hospitals, Ms. Garr emphasized that a physician in private practice is indeed an employer and is just as responsible for maintaining a nondiscriminatory environment as are employers with much larger staffs.

She began by defining the parameters of a discrimination claim and the ways in which employers can protect themselves. A member of almost any minority or legally protected group can claim discrimination, and a suit can be brought on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, color, national origin (of oneself or one’s family), religion, physical characteristics, physical disability, and almost anything that is perceived as being outside the American mainstream, which in itself is difficult to define.

Ms. Garr described what employers must have in place to defend themselves:

A written policy that makes clear the office’s complete prohibition against discrimination in any form. All employees must be made aware of the policy and given a copy.

Managers must be given appropriate training in what discrimination is and how to prevent it, and they in turn must make certain that all employees understand the rules of conduct.

The physician employer must have a complaint procedure in place, and employees have to be made aware of that as well. Pick the right person to head your complaint process, said Ms. Garr, Otherwise, no one will use it. The person must be recognized as having integrity and enough power inside the office so employees will believe retaliation won’t be permitted.

All policies and procedures must be applied consistently to all employees, and employees who are similarly situated must be treated similarly. For example, if occasional slight tardiness is acceptable for white employees, then black employees who are sometimes a few minutes late may not be punished.

Pages: 1 2 3 | Single Page

Filed Under: Departments, Legal Matters, Practice Management Tagged With: employment, guidelines, lawsuits, legal, physician safety, practice management, staffing, workplace issuesIssue: February 2008

You Might Also Like:

  • Employment Contracts Need to Ensure Physicians are Free Agents
  • How Reasonable Non-Compete Clauses Can Protect Your Practice
  • Part-Time Work Appeals to Increasing Number of Physicians
  • Anatomy of a Noncompetition Clause: Now’s the time to review your employment contract

The Triological SocietyENTtoday is a publication of The Triological Society.

The Laryngoscope
Ensure you have all the latest research at your fingertips; Subscribe to The Laryngoscope today!

Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
Open access journal in otolaryngology – head and neck surgery is currently accepting submissions.

Classifieds

View the classified ads »

TRIO Best Practices

View the TRIO Best Practices »

Top Articles for Residents

  • Do Training Programs Give Otolaryngology Residents the Necessary Tools to Do Productive Research?
  • Why More MDs, Medical Residents Are Choosing to Pursue Additional Academic Degrees
  • What Physicians Need to Know about Investing Before Hiring a Financial Advisor
  • Tips to Help You Regain Your Sense of Self
  • Should USMLE Step 1 Change from Numeric Score to Pass/Fail?
  • Popular this Week
  • Most Popular
  • Most Recent
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • Experts Delve into Treatment Options for Laryngopharyngeal Reflux
    • Some Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Resists PPI Treatment
    • Weaning Patients Off of PPIs
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • New Developments in the Management of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction
    • Some Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Resists PPI Treatment
    • Eustachian Tuboplasty: A Potential New Option for Chronic Tube Dysfunction and Patulous Disease
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • Podcasts Becoming More Popular Method of Education for Otolaryngologists
    • How to Embrace Optimism in the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic
    • Tips on How to Approach Conversations with Patients about the COVID-19 Vaccine
    • Steps You Should Take to Protect Your Voice and Hearing During Telemedicine Sessions
    • Routine Postoperative Adjunct Treatments Unnecessary for Idiopathic Cerebrospinal Fluid Leaks

Polls

Have you spoken with your patients about receiving the COVID-19 vaccine?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Polls Archive
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Visit: The Triological Society • The Laryngoscope • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology

Wiley
© 2021 The Triological Society. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN 1559-4939

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
This site uses cookies: Find out more.