A court of appeals has ruled that Indianapolis, Ind.-based Capitol Street Surgery Center was within its rights to fire an interventional radiology technologist, according to court documents accessed by Becker's.
According to the court documents, Marty Lauser filed a charge with the National Labor Relations Board after he was fired, alleging his termination was due to an objection during the meeting.
In November 2020, it was announced that a nurse would be assigned to position a C-arm before surgeries. Mr. Lauster objected, stating that nurses were not permitted to operate the C-arm. According to the documents, two weeks later, he was terminated by the clinic's administrator, Brandon Ehret.
Mr. Ehret allegedly was not aware of the objection and decided to terminate Mr. Lauster due to performance issues that threatened patient safety, rather than for any protected labor activity, according to the court documents.
The circuit court acknowledged that Mr. Lauster's objection regarding the C-arm was a protected activity, but it found insufficient evidence that Mr. Ehret was aware of Mr. Lauster's comment when deciding to terminate him.
The court concluded that the NLRB's findings were not supported by substantial evidence.
Becker's has reached out to Capitol Street Surgery Center and will update the story if more information becomes available.