MEDICAL Residents & Title IX – Teaching Hospitals Take Note
Last month, Baker Donelson reported the surprise ruling out of the Third Circuit in Jane Doe v. Mercy Medical Center in which the court held that the discrimination and harassment prohibitions of Title IX apply to a private hospital’s medical residency program. Even more surprising, the court ruled that a medical resident could bypass the traditional administrative scheme required for making employment claims by pursuing litigation under Title IX, which the U.S. Supreme Court previously held allows for a direct, individual cause of action. The impact of the Doe decision is likely significant, and requires medical residency programs to understand their new obligations and take action to protect themselves from an expected increase in sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation claims.
bakerdonelson.com By Jennifer Curry
