CLEVELAND — The National Labor Relations Board is now investigating University Hospitals after a complaint of wrongful termination was filed against the healthcare system.
RELATED: 2 University Hospitals pediatricians fired for sending unsolicited texts to other doctors
A complaint was filed against UH by the Doctors Council SEIU on July 18.
The complaint states the following as the basis for the charge:
- On or about June 23, 2025, terminating Dr. Lauren Beene and Dr. Valerie Fouts-Fowler in retaliation for their participation in protected concerted activity and union organizing efforts.
- Continuously during the last six months, maintaining unlawfully overbroad confidentiality and communications policies.
- Continuously during the last six months, engaging in disparate enforcement of the policies against Drs. Beene and Fouts-Fowler, based on their protected concerted activities and their union organizing efforts, resulting in their termination.
- Since in or around March 2025, unlawfully surveilling Dr. Beene and Dr. Fouts-Fowler’s protected activity by monitoring and analyzing their communications with their co-workers.
"Everything we did is considered concerted activity under the National Labor Relations Board and so us being fired for that is against the law, so we filed a complaint and we're in the process of going through that now," said Dr. Valerie Fouts-Fowler.
Dr. Lauren Beene said that because they were fired abruptly and were forced to search for an attorney, it slowed down the process of getting the complaint filed.
"It's not a fast process, unlike health care, where everything is boom, boom, boom. The legal world is just a little bit slow, so no specific reason why," Beene said in reference to why it was filed a month after being terminated from UH.
The complaint alleges five federal protections were violated by UH:
- 8(a)(3) Discharge (Including Layoff and Refusal to Hire (not salting))
- 8(a)(1) Concerted Activities (Retaliation, Discharge, Discipline)
- 8(a)(3) Changes in Terms and Conditions of Employment
- 8(a)(1) Coercive Rules
- 8(a)(1) Coercive Actions (Surveillance, etc)
I reached out to UH for comment last week.
UH Vice President of Communications, Michael Tobin, sent me the same statement we received weeks ago.
Let’s be clear: the decision to terminate these two physicians had absolutely nothing to do with union organizing.
The only reason we launched an investigation into this matter was because of complaints from UH physicians about being sent unsolicited text messages. An investigation determined these two physicians went into a care coordination app, accessed the personal data of 4,000 colleagues, and repeatedly sent them unsolicited text messages that had nothing to do with care coordination.
That is why they were terminated.
UH leaders repeatedly sought to work together with the now-terminated physicians throughout their careers to address any concerns these physicians raised.
No one is being silenced. There is not one issue that UH leaders ducked, ignored, or did not seek to address with each physician involved. In fact, when these two physicians expressed concerns, UH leaders offered to meet with them in person. These physicians chose not to meet.
Many other physicians raise concerns that are addressed daily — all done without improperly accessing thousands of their colleagues’ personal data and sending them unsolicited text messages.
I asked Tobin if there was anything UH wanted to address.
"What's changed?" Tobin asked.
"The complaint was filed on Friday (July 18), so I just wanted to check if there was anything to add to that statement. I understand you all stand firm in your statement, but now with the ULP complaint, I wasn’t sure if there was anything new from UH’s side," I responded.
"No, we're good," Tobin said.
The National Labor Relations Board confirms the complaint is still being reviewed by staff in the regional office.
"We really have the support of the community behind us. We would love for everybody in charge of UH to just take a moment and notice what's happening here because this is an opportunity for UH to set an example of how to do things right, which is to make sure that when doctors organize and speak up, they're not reprimanded," Beene said.
As the complaint continues undergoing a review, hundreds gathered in front of UH's Main Campus in Cleveland on Wednesday night.
"Bring back Dr. Beene! Bring back Dr. Fowler!," the crowd chanted.
RELATED: 'Reinstate the doctors!' Hundreds protest firing of 2 UH pediatricians
Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid), UH patient Reese Klubert, TikTok influencer Nurse Blake, union leaders and other community allies spoke during Wednesday's picket.
"I'm supporting my doctors," Klubert said. "[Dr. Fouts-Fowler] is my doctor, but I stand with both of them."
Klubert is 11 years old. She said she has been a patient of Fouts-Fowler her "entire life."
"She's kind and caring. She cares about our feelings," Klubert said.
Klubert's mom was also at the picket.
"These doctors are amazing. They've taken the best absolute care of my kids, and I hope they get to continue to do that," Klubert's mom told me.
Wednesday's picket looked to have attracted 200-300 people.
"We're here because we want our jobs back. We want to get back to work, taking care of our patients, being able to advocate for them. We love Rainbow. This is where we train, and it's where we want to continue to work, and we just want to help make things better," Beene said.
Fouts-Fowler said, "We are growing steadily with lots of community support. This is so much bigger than just Lauren and I. This is a national movement now. Healthcare systems across the U.S. are broken, and it needs to be fixed, and I think that we're standing up, and people are taking note because everybody's a patient sometimes. I think everybody really should be involved in this, and I think UH could lead the way."
Neither doctor said they've heard from UH since they've been fired.
"Do you think UH, do you think the CEO of UH is actually paying attention to you guys?" I asked.
"I hope so. I hope everybody who's a decision maker is," Beene said.
Beene and Fouts-Fowler plan to keep organizing pickets and different ways to try to get UH to reverse its decision to terminate.
"We are planning many, many weeks in advance at this point because it's too important. We have to win," Fouts-Fowler said.
As the duo keeps fighting for their jobs back, Beene and Fouts-Fowler said they're grateful for those who have supported them along this journey so far.
"I wanna say thank you to everybody who's helped us organize today. We have so many patients and their families, our colleagues at UH, community members, leaders of community groups, our spouses, families — like this has really taken a village to be able to demonstrate and use our voices in this way, which is really beautiful. We're just so grateful that everybody is on this journey with us," Beene said.
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