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Board of Physician Quality Assurance v. Banks5/12/1999
No. 87, September Term, 1997
Board of Physician Quality Assurance v. Lester H. Banks * * * Lester H. Banks v. Board of Physician Quality Assurance
[Whether The Board Of Physician Quality Assurance Could Reasonably Conclude That A Physician's Sexually Harassing Conduct Towards Co- employees, Committed While The Physician Was On Duty At The Hospital And In Working Areas Of The Hospital, Constitutes Immoral Or Unprofessional Conduct In The Practice Of Medicine Within The Meaning Of Maryland Code (1981, 1994 Repl. Vol.), § 14-404(a)(3) Of The Health Occupations Article]
We issued a writ of certiorari in this case to decide whether the Board of Physician Quality Assurance could reasonably conclude that a physician's sexually harassing conduct towards co-employees, committed while the physician was on duty at the hospital and in working areas of the hospital, constitutes immoral or unprofessional conduct in the practice of medicine within the meaning of Maryland Code (1981, 1994 Repl. Vol.), § 14-404(a)(3) of the Health Occupations Article.
I.
From 1986 until 1991, Dr. Lester H. Banks worked at Carroll County General Hospital as a medical-surgical house physician. As house physician, Dr. Banks was expected to work twelve hour shifts and was responsible for admitting patients into the hospital, caring for patients, and assisting in the operating room and emergency department. The house physician program was new to the hospital and was thus underutilized by the medical staff, resulting in considerable "down time" for the house physician. Because of the underutilization, Dr. Banks often agreed to work twenty-four and thirty-six hour shifts, frequently working as many as thirty shifts per month. When on duty, Dr. Banks was not free to leave the hospital and was expected to be available at all times. Nevertheless, when Dr. Banks was on duty but not utilized by the medical staff, he was free to sleep, eat, watch television, use the telephone, read, or visit with other employees in the hospital.
The evidence at the administrative hearing in this case disclosed the following. During the time Dr. Banks was employed by Carroll County General Hospital, he engaged in a pattern of sexually harassing female employees while he was on duty. A unit secretary at the hospital, witness #1, stated that Dr. Banks on several occasions came to her work station and repeatedly touched her, rubbed her shoulders, back and neck, put his hands through her hair, and pinched her behind. She further stated that Dr. Banks "repeatedly made rude and unnecessary comments, most often regarding sex." She testified that on one occasion, Dr. Banks approached her from behind and put his hands around her waist and squeezed her stomach. Witness #1 was offended by Dr. Banks's unwelcome advances and told him to leave her alone. She indicated that Dr. Banks's "conduct often occurred in areas where patients, visitors, and other staff could observe the embarrassing advances." Witness #1 reported the offensive conduct to her supervisor and also filed a written report describing the conduct.
Witness #2, a unit secretary in the hospital's emergency department, also reported sexual harassment by Dr. Banks. She stated that on one occasion shortly after she began her employment at the hospital, Dr. Banks was waiting behind her to stamp some documents on the addressograph machine for a patient he was admitting. While he was waiting, Dr. Banks hit witness #2 "very hard on the backside, causing her to jump in surprise." Witness #2 testified that on another occasion, an employee had accidentally knocked over a cup of coffee, spilling coffee on witness #2 and on her shoes. At that time Dr
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