A hospital operating room supervisor threatened to fire an employee who was summoned for jury duty, prompting a North Carolina judge to order the supervisor to appear before him in court July 23, according to The Charlotte Observer.
During the court appearance, Superior Court Judge Todd Pomeroy sharply criticized Ashley Sterchi, RN, MSN, director of surgical services at Statesville, N.C.-based Iredell Memorial Hospital. Mr. Pomeroy had received emails from Ms. Sterchi's employee earlier that week, which showed Ms. Sterchi threatened the employee with termination.
"The last thing we want is for a member of the jury pool to be fearful they would lose their job," Mr. Pomeroy told Ms. Sterchi.
Ms. Sterchi told Mr. Pomeroy the employee had not given the hospital advance notice that she had jury duty July 22. Mr. Pomeroy lectured Ms. Sterchi on the role of jurors in court settings but decided not to discipline her.
Iredell Health System has "a strong, long-standing policy advocating for participating in jury duty," said spokesperson Meagan Kowalski. Ms. Sterchi did not respond to The Charlotte Observer's requests for comment.