A nurse at an Illinois acute care hospital took a prescribed opioid for shingles the night before a shift and reported to work without telling her supervisor about the medication. That day, two controlled opioids were improperly removed from the hospital's secure dispensing system, and several coworkers reported that she appeared disoriented and drowsy and spoke with slurred speech.
Under hospital policy, a nursing supervisor responded immediately once the missing morphine was reported. Supervisors required a fitness-for-duty examination and a drug test, which was positive for opiates. An internal committee then investigated two questions: whether the nurse had been fit for duty and whether a drug diversion had occurred, reviewing security logs as part of that process.
The hospital concluded she had violated its drug and alcohol policy, had been unfit for duty and had shown unsafe behavior, and it terminated her employment over concerns that she had likely diverted the missing medications. A Nursing Mandatory Report was also filed.
She sued under Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Illinois Human Rights Act. In August 2025 the Seventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the hospital, finding she had not established discrimination or retaliation. The court expressly noted that whether the hospital's diversion suspicion was right or wrong was not before it.