State paid over $100K to settle whistleblower lawsuit
The state has paid nearly $103,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by a former Health Department bureau chief who alleged she was retaliated against for repeatedly raising concerns about chronic understaffing in the agency that inspects hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities.
The Health Department and the Risk Management Division entered into the settlement with Amber Espinosa-Trujillo, former chief of the department’s Health Facilities Licensing and Certification Bureau. The Risk Management Division recently released a copy of the settlement, which had been confidential for six months.
The state had denied that Espinosa-Trujillo, wife of Santa Fe mayoral candidate Ron Trujillo, was retaliated against in violation of the New Mexico Whistleblower Protection Act.
Espinosa-Trujillo now works for the state Department of Cultural Affairs, and the settlement bars her from working again for the Health Department until after Republican Gov. Susana Martinez leaves office at the end of 2018.
Read more: http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/health_and_science/state-paid-over-k-to-settle-whistleblower-lawsuit/article_f54754d8-70e2-58a6-8a0a-b6b07a959a59.html