Esther Tenao Atam
13621 Arcturus Ave.
Gardena, CA 90249
Natashchan1@yahoo.com
[Date]
Attorney General
[Enter Address]
Re: OBJECTION TO PETITIONER’S ORDER
Respectfully,
I refer to Case No. 4002021005658
This letter serves as my formal objection of the “Petition and Order Compelling Mental
and/or Physical Examination” in the afore-referenced case.
Background
I am a 37-year-old woman of African and Cameroonian origin who was employed with
Kaizer. I commenced my employment with Kaizer on or about January 20, 2020. During the
time I was employed, I held the position of Emergency Room Registered Nurse where I
performed all workplace duties within the scope of my expertise and knowledge. At all times
herein mentioned, I performed my duties as a registered nurse with care, diligence, and
competence, having been a licensed nurse for many years prior to my employment at Kaizer.
My duties as a registered nurse working in the emergency room at SCPMG included caring
for the hospital’s patients, administering IVs, making patients’ beds, supervising patients’
recovery and health, and other tasks which are typical for a registered nurse working in an
emergency room in a hospital.
Throughout the course of my employment at Kaizer, I was subjected to a number of acts in
violation of California employment discrimination laws, including disability discrimination,
gender discrimination, racial and national origin discrimination, national origin harassment,
and sexual harassment.
The problems commenced on or about August 2020, when I was asked to leave work by my
supervisor, Sarah Poetter, who served as Clinical Nurse Director of Emergency Services at
Kaizer. I was told that I could only return to work with a clearance note from a psychologist.
The reason given for demanding that I leave the work premises was that I was mentally
unstable and unfit to function in my role as an emergency room nurse. I assert that Poetter
erroneously concluded that I was mentally unstable.
Notably, on or about August 2020, I complained to POETTER about bullying that I had been
subjected to by one of my colleagues, Xavier Edwards, who worked alongside me at
SCPMG. Such bullying and harassment consisted of a number of incidents. For example, on
or about August 28, 2020, I was engaged in a casual conversation with Mr. Edwards when I
mentioned that I had been harassed by two males within the last year at another job that I held
before. At the time, I considered Mr. Edwards to be a friend since we often worked in the
same shift as nurses. I later discovered, however, that Mr. Edwards had been spreading
rumors about me to other co-workers, telling them that they should "watch out" for me since I
had complained about sexual harassment at another job.
From that point on, Mr. Edwards began picking on, bullying, and harassing me. Mr. Edwards
would make negative remarks about me to the hospital’s patients in an effort to discredit me
and make me appear incompetent and incapable of performing my duties as a nurse. The
cumulative effect of Mr. Edwards’ actions inflicted severe emotional distress on me and
destroyed my sense of security while employed at the hospital, placing me in fear of physical
harm and negatively impacting my ability to competently and professionally care for my
patients, which I had always striven so hard to do. Despite my repeated complaints, the
supervisors at SCPMG, took no action to prevent Mr. Edwards from harassing me, and
effectively committed such activities to occur, thereby effectively endorsing Mr. Edwards’
harassment of me. I also endured discrimination and harassment from the senior levels of the
IMISER staff, culminating in my wrongful termination on or about March 18, 2021.
Arguments
1. The Petition is based on a false and defamatory report
In the petition, the Board alleges that my ability to practice as a registered nurse may be
impaired due to mental and/or physical illness. The Board further gives an account of August
28, 2020, when staff members allegedly reported that I was having a mental breakdown. The
Board also alleges that the mental breakdown led to the release of my licensed duties.
On the contrary, I assert that the averments in the petition are influenced by the erroneous
report from Kaizer. As I have already discussed above, the correct version of facts for the
August 28, 2020 incidence is that I was engaged in a casual conversation with Mr. Edwards,
a previous co-worker, when I mentioned that I had been harassed by two males within the last
year at another job I held before. At that time, I considered Mr. Edwards to be a friend since
we often worked in the same shift as nurses. It is after this incidence that Mr. Edwards started
making negative remarks about me to the hospital’s patients and staff, in an effort to discredit
me and make me appear as incompetent and incapable of performing my duties as a nurse.
I believe that these actions by the management at SCPMG were acts of retaliation against me
and their effort to portray me as mentally unbalanced because I had complained about
bullying by my co-worker, Xavier Edwards. Furthermore, I believe that my mistreatment was
substantially motivated by hostility to my ethnic background and foreign accent, and
for this reason, the staff at Kaizer attempted to portray me as having suffered a psychotic
break and also portray me as unfit to work as a registered nurse.
It follows; the report from Kaizer is only out to cover up the harassment, and violations of
rights that I was subjected to.
2. The Board had already received my mental health report
The Board of Registered Nursing obtained my mental health records from a credible source
around a year ago. However, the Board opted to disregard the credible mental health records
and to rely instead on a falsified report from Kaizer. Contrary to Kaizer’s averments
regarding the August 28 th incidence, I had interacted with several people that morning,
including Kevin, my nurse friend, and Dr. Machete, MD. Notably, not one of these
individuals stopped to question me because there was nothing odd about my behavior.
For that reason, given that I had no record of prior mental health issues, the humiliation and
frustration caused by Kaizer made me feel stigmatized and infringed my rights and freedoms
such as the freedom from discrimination.
It follows; the Board is already in receipt of my mental health report, which is a legitimate
report from a credible source. Therefore, the reliance on Kaizer’s report to file the petition is
nothing but sheer frivolity and malice. It is for this reason that the Order should be dismissed.
3. There appears to be collusion between Kaizer and the Board of Registered
Nursing
I have observed that there is connivance between Kaizer and the Board of Registered
Nursing, which collusion is manifest from the conduct of my case at the Superior Court of
California, County of Los Angeles, case number 21STCV41538. For instance, I received the
letter from you, and the Board’s petition, on July 14, 2022. Interestingly, I also received
Kaizer’s Motion for Summary Judgment on the self-same day. This was definitely not a
coincidence. It shows that the Board of Registered Nursing is colluding with Kaiser.
Further, my court hearing for case number 21STCV41538 is set for September 29, 2022, and
the Board’s petition wants me to submit to a psychiatric evaluation by August 14, 2022. The
petition should therefore not be considered for the foregoing reason.
Conclusion
In light of the foregoing, I maintain that the petition is frivolous and malicious. It is based on
a false report. Besides, the Board is already in receipt of my mental health report, which is
from a credible source. Lastly, there appears to be collusion between the Board and Kaizer.
For the said reasons, it is in the interest of justice to dismiss the Order Compelling
Examinations.
Sincerely,
_________________
ESTHER ATAM
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