Montana Department of Labor Loses Lawsuit Over Firing

A jury has awarded the former executive director of the Montana Board of Nursing $160,000 in a wrongful discharge lawsuit against the Montana Department of Labor and Industry.

The Lewis and Clark County jury on Friday took less than four hours to reach a 9-3 verdict in Barbara Swehla’s claim.

The Independent Record reported that Swehla was the board’s executive director from 2000 to 2003 and also from December 2006 to April 2009 when she was terminated.

Swehla as executive director questioned whether family nurse practitioners were qualified for certain settings. The state argued that her actions were disruptive.

The jury did not rule on Swehla’s concerns concerning medical care, only that she didn’t commit an offense that merited being fired.