Judge Sandra Feuerstein
Registered nurse Hanley worked at Nassau University Medical Center's (NUMC) Occupational Health Department, put under Gardyn's supervision and control in 2008. After a 37-year tenure, she left Nassau Health Care Corp.'s employment, asserting constructive discharge due to an intolerable hostile work environment after complaining about Gardyn's practices concerning billing, referrals, patient care and the proper handling of samples, medication and confidential patient information. District court dismissed Hanley's amended complaint alleging violations of 42 USC §§1983, 1985, 1986 and 1988. Discussing Weintraub v. Bd. of Educ. of City School Dist. of the City of N.Y. and Garcetti v. Ceballos, it held that because her complaints against Gardyn were made pursuant to her official duties, they were not insulated from employer discipline under the First Amendment. The court observed that Hanley's raising of internal complaints about specific, day-to-day operations in NUMC was not a type of speech engaged in outside an employment context and could not be analogized to "writing a letter to a local newspaper or discussing politics with a coworker." Thus Hanley's First Amendment retaliation claim asserted under §1983 was dismissed.
