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SLW/UTAH12/17/1998
Defendant Fairview Care Centers, Inc. (Fairview) appeals the trial court's judgment in favor of plaintiff Cathleen L. Rackley. We reverse.
FACTS
Fairview is a family-owned nursing care operation consisting of two care facilities. Rackley managed the Fairview "West" facility from November 1993 through February 1994. During her tenure at Fairview, Rackley made numerous suggestions to Joseph Peterson, an owner and general manager of Fairview, regarding Fairview's compliance with federal and state law and other work-related issues. While not all of Rackley's suggested changes were received favorably by Peterson, many were implemented nonetheless.
In February 1994, Rackley discovered that Karleen Merkley, the Fairview manager responsible for resident funds, had instructed the Fairview staff not to tell resident Muriel Mellen that a $720 check from the Veterans Administration had arrived. Merkley herself was so instructed by Sharon Mellen, Muriel's daughter-in-law who had been managing Muriel's financial affairs for many years since the death of Muriel's husband. Although Sharon had deposited Muriel's check into Muriel's personal bank account, she wanted to personally tell Muriel of its arrival in the hopes of convincing Muriel, an Alzheimers resident, that the money should be spent for the purchase of a wheelchair for her.
When Rackley discovered Muriel's check and the fact that Muriel had not yet been informed of its arrival, she took it upon herself to not only tell Muriel, but to also call Sharon at her place of employment to express her "concerns" about the impropriety of keeping the information from Muriel. Rackley did not take the initiative to tell Peterson, nor did she contact any outside authorities in an attempt to have the situation investigated.
Sharon was upset that, despite her instructions, Rackley had made a unilateral decision to tell Muriel about the check. Sharon consequently called Peterson and told him what had happened. Peterson then met with Rackley, Merkley, and Sallie Maroney, the manager of the Fairview "East" facility. Both Maroney and Merkley received a written reprimand for failing to tell Muriel about the check. Peterson also instituted a new official policy requiring that residents be informed of all incoming funds, regardless of who is assisting them with their financial affairs.
Peterson also reprimanded Rackley and told her to call Sharon to apologize for the incident. However, after further thought, Peterson decided to terminate Rackley and called her into a meeting. While the testimony is conflicting as to whether Peterson had changed his mind and decided to keep Rackley as the Fairview "West" administrator, the trial court found that Peterson did, in fact, fire Rackley.
Rackley filed suit claiming she was wrongfully discharged by Fairview in violation of public policy. After a bench trial, the trial court ruled that " efendant's said termination of plaintiff's employment implicated a clear and substantial public policy, to wit: the right of the residents of defendant's Salt
Lake City west side facility (including resident Muriel Mellen) to be informed of the fact that resident personal monies had arrived at the facility." The trial court further determined that " efendant violated that public policy by, in terminating plaintiff's employment, punishing plaintiff for engaging in conduct furthering that policy." The trial court then concluded that
Defendant unlawfully terminated the employment of plaintiff in violation of the public policy of the State of Utah, including but not limited to the clear and substantial public policy considerations set forth in
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