Whistleblower nursing director files wrongful dismissal lawsuit

Tasha Rossignol spent more than 25 years looking out for some of New Brunswick’s most vulnerable seniors. Her career came to a crashing halt in December 2021 when she called the Department of Social Development to discuss a case of suspected elder abuse she caught on video. 

The former nursing director is now suing her ex-employer, Tobique Valley Manor, and the New Brunswick Association of Nursing Homes for $20,000 for wrongful dismissal, breach of contract, reputational damage and “undue stress.”  

Rossignol claims she was terminated after she told the province about “bad legal advice” her nursing home had received from the association. She says Tobique Valley Manor was told to financially compensate a licensed practical nurse who had been fired with cause on April 20, 2021 for striking one of the manor’s residents. 

Rossignol was terminated six days after she took her concerns to the province. 

“I was devastated,” said the 47-year-old former nursing director who lives in Sisson Brook. “I couldn’t believe in my little hometown that I was being fired for speaking up that a nurse hit a resident. I couldn’t believe it.” 

In its statement of defence, Tobique Valley Manor claims Rossignol, who signed a pledge of confidentiality upon her hiring, was terminated with just cause on Dec. 16, 2021 “as a result of repeated insubordination and failure to follow protocol with respect to governance, and her disclosure of confidential and privileged legal advice.” 

Only six days before her firing, Rossignol had “disclosed privileged and confidential information” with the Department of Social Development on a “personnel matter,” according to the manor’s statement of claim.    

The Department of Social Development is responsible for licensing and inspecting nursing homes in the province, but the day-to-day operations are the purview of nursing home operators.  

Brunswick News requested an interview with Amy Jenkins, administrator of Tobique Valley Manor. She declined comment Monday, citing the ongoing legal action. 

In its statement of defence, the New Brunswick Association of Nursing Homes claims Rossignol was never its employee and therefore wasn’t privy to her contract. It denies the allegations it caused Rossignol reputational damage and “undue stress.” 

None of the allegations have yet to be tested in court.  

Brunswick News requested an interview with Julie Weir, CEO of the New Brunswick Association of Nursing Homes, to discuss Rossignol’s allegations and its role in providing legal advice to its members. Weir declined comment Monday. 

Brunswick News is not naming the nurse fired for hitting a resident because she has since died and cannot respond to the allegations. 

The licensed practical nurse could be seen on camera striking Leona “at least twice” in the arm, Rossignol said. At the time, Leona, who was in a wheelchair, had been following the nurse in the hallway while she was doing her rounds.

“My stomach dropped because never in 25 years of nursing have I ever seen any nurse be inappropriate to a resident, and I mean we deal with a lot,” Rossignol said. “We deal with a lot – we have a lot coming at us – but I have never seen anyone strike a resident.” 

In a March 12, 2021 email provided to Brunswick News, the licensed practical nurse claimed Leona, who had been sick and had been “very combative,” had grabbed ahold of her scrub top with her hands, pinching her in the process. The nurse said she told the resident she was hurting her and to let go.  

“I used only enough force to her hand so she would release my top and the pinch of my stomach,” the nurse wrote in an email. 

After viewing the video and reading witness statements, Rossignol says she questions that explanation for the nurse’s actions to this day. In her opinion, Rossignol believes the entire situation could have been avoided if the resident’s wheelchair had been locked into place and a worker had distracted the resident while staff carried on with their rounds. 

“Every time I looked at Leona after (the incident) – I’d see her in the halls every day, I talked to her, I held her hand, I reassured her – I felt sick because not just me, but all of us need to do better for our seniors,” Rossignol said. 

Giberson’s family was immediately notified of the incident once nursing home management became aware of it.  

“All we were told was that this one that was working there gave Mom a slap – hit her – and they had it on video because whatever happened happened in the hallway,” her son Frank Giberson recalled. “They went and checked the video and called this person in – whoever it was – and terminated her right on the spot.”   

For the Giberson family, the matter was over, but unbeknownst to them, the nurse fired for hitting their mother had filed a grievance to challenge her dismissal in the spring of 2021. 

After reviewing the evidence, the New Brunswick Association of Nursing Homes – which provides legal advice to its member nursing homes – advised Tobique Valley Manor to settle with the licensed practical nurse, citing potential losses of $20,000 if the matter proceeded to arbitration, according to copies of emails obtained by Brunswick News. 

While the nurse had confessed to using “improper force” with the resident, she had cited self-defense for her actions as the resident had been “physically aggressive and combative with staff.” 

“Given the employee’s confession, the corroborating witness statements, the charting evidence and the resident’s aggressive symptoms, it is our opinion that an arbitrator will likely not uphold the termination of the employee,” legal counsel Andrew McGuire wrote in a letter addressed to Jenkins.  

In a July 21 email, Jenkins told McGuire that while she still needed to talk to her board, she could “almost say for certain that I am not giving (the nurse) $10,000 in her bank account,” referencing the amount the nurse wanted to settle the case. 

Tobique Valley Manor was prepared to go to arbitration and fight the matter, Rossignol said, but before that could happen, the nurse died in October 2021. 

Shortly after the death, Rossignol said she was summoned to a meeting with Michael Keating, then CEO of the New Brunswick Association of Nursing Homes, after she raised concerns about McGuire’s legal advice.  

At that point, Keating informed her the nurse’s grievance was still active and proposed a plan to compensate the nurse’s estate, Rossignol said. 

That was the final straw. 

“I didn’t expect the pushback from who I thought were our allies,” Rossignol said. “It was all about protecting this employee and her reputation. Nobody gave any thought to the resident who was hit in the night. That was very shocking to me.”

After the meeting, Rossignol says she spoke with Assistant Deputy Social Development Minister Elizabeth Dubee Merrill about her concerns. 

Even if the nurse had died and couldn’t work in another home, Rossignol says she felt strongly that a legal precedent needed to be set by taking the case to arbitration and standing behind the nursing home’s decision.   

An administrative review of the case had actually upheld the manor’s decision to fire the nurse, she added. 

“I get that long-term care isn’t a rich sector and that there isn’t a lot of money, but at the end of those business decisions that they’re making, it’s not lumber,” Rossignol said. “Those employees are not going to cut lumber at a different mill. They’re going to care for our residents in a different nursing home, or worse, home care.” 

Rossignol says she doesn’t know if the nurse’s estate was paid out because she was terminated shortly after she called the Department of Social Development. She would eventually go on to work for the department as a nurse consultant, but she says her contract came to an end earlier this year, months after she had filed her small claims lawsuit.  

When reached by Brunswick News, Frank Giberson – Leona’s son – hadn’t heard that Rossignol lost her job as a result of speaking up for his mother. Leona died at the age of 99 at Tobique Valley Manor last April. 

Giberson says Rossignol’s termination sends the wrong message to nursing home staff in the province. 

“That’s not very good because that means if somebody sees something, they’re not going to say anything because they don’t want to get involved,” he said. “If they get involved and something happens, they could be fired.” 

Brunswick News requested an interview with Social Development Minister Jill Green to discuss whether it had investigated Rossignol’s claims and whether it had any protocol for protecting whistleblowers. The newspaper did not receive a response as of deadline Monday. 

Rossignol says she’s mourned losing her job at Tobique Valley Manor. She didn’t have a chance to say goodbye to a place she had worked on and off since high school.  

“I loved the residents so much that I changed my major to nursing,” said Rossignol, who was originally studying business before she first became a licensed practical nurse and then a registered nurse. 

Rossignol doesn’t regret speaking up – she believes more of it is needed in the long-term care sector – but she says it’s cost her the ability to work in the province. She has given up her nursing licence in New Brunswick because she says she’s been labelled as “a disgruntled employee and a troublemaker” by some within the nursing home sector. 

“I am disgruntled about the processes they use when it comes to abuse, so if that means I’m disgruntled, I guess I am.”