High court hears dispute over privacy, hospital firing

ALMA (AP) — The Michigan Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in an unusual case involving a hospital, privacy and a personal protection order.

Tammy McNeil-Marks was fired in 2014 as a clinical manager at MidMichigan Medical Center in Alma. The hospital says she violated privacy rules when she told her lawyer about a patient in the hospital.

It turns out that McNeil-Marks was concerned about her safety because she had a personal protection order against the woman. The woman was served with the order while in a room.

McNeil-Marks says she can't be fired and should be protected by Michigan's whistleblower law. But the hospital says her call to her lawyer doesn't qualify as a report to a public body under the law.