Saying she lost her job in 2022 for incorrect timekeeping, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals is seeking dismissal of a pharmacist's lawsuit that alleges she was wrongfully fired for taking leave to care for family members and herself after they all were diagnosed with the coronavirus.
Ani J. Adamian's Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit allegations include wrongful termination, disability discrimination and harassment, whistleblower retaliation, failure to accommodate and engage in the interactive process, race and gender discrimination, defamation and violations of the state Labor Code.
The 42-year-old Adamian, who is of Armenian ancestry, seeks unspecified damages in the suit brought in November 2022. But in court papers filed Nov. 17. But in court papers filed Wednesday with Judge Richard L. Fruin in advance of a March 4 hearing on the dismissal motion, Kaiser attorneys maintain Adamian was suspected of providing false timekeeping information in July 2022 and that Kaiser was justified in firing her.
An investigation showed Adamian repeatedly arrived after her shift had started and left before her shift ended, which she attempted to hide by using her cell phone to clock in and out when she was not actually in her work area, the Kaiser lawyers maintain in their court papers.
Adamian tried to justify her actions by maintaining that she needed to transport her son to and from preschool, according to the hospital attorneys' court papers, which further state that the plaintiff now claims that her termination was wrongful and was actually based on race, gender and disability discrimination.
"None of plaintiff's claims have merit," the Kaiser attorneys state in their court papers.
Adamian was hired as a pharmacist intern in August 2004 and later as a regular pharmacist after she completed her schooling, the suit states. For 18 years, she had an impeccable history of documenting her working hours and following the laws and defendants' policies, the suit states.
During the last few months of her Kaiser employment, Adamian, her parents, her spouse and her child contracted the coronavirus, requiring her to take time off in July to care for her relatives and herself, the suit states. When Adamian returned to work in late July, her supervisor sent her a message that read, "We need to set up a time to discuss your COVID leave ... and attendance," the suit states.
Adamian provided documentation, including a doctor's note for her son and an explanation that her son was still not allowed to return to school because of his positive test, the suit states. Adamian also told her supervisor that the plaintiff's father needed monoclonal antibody infusions after he tested positive because he is on dialysis for kidney disease.
Nonetheless, Adamian's boss told her in August 2022 that she had concerns about Adamian's attendance and her leaving work for family needs, stating, "I have an investigation that has not been completed yet," the suit states.
Adamian was suspended in September 2022 and fired the next month, according to the suit, which further states that her boss told her she had violated Kaiser's employee attendance policy.
Adamian has experienced lost income and emotional distress because her firing, the suit states. She also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder acquired when she was robbed of her purse at gunpoint while working at a Kaiser facility in Northridge in September 2016, the suit states.
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