Former Norman Regional nurse sues hospital after being fired for Facebook comment

Apr. 27—A former Norman Regional Health System nurse is suing the health care provider for more than $1 million after he was terminated last summer for making a Facebook comment his employer called "racist and inflammatory" in court documents.

NRHS fired Kevin Murnan, a nurse of 19 years, in August 2020 after Murnan commented, "Get a tall tree and a short piece of rope" on a Daily Wire story about a Black man accused of killing a white child.

Murnan is suing NRHS for $1.2 million, claiming in court that his Facebook comment is protected speech under the First Amendment and that NRHS is "attempting to punish (Murnan) for his views as a Republican."

NRHS has filed a motion to dismiss the suit, claiming Murnan was terminated justly and without violation of his rights.

It is scheduled for a hearing May 6 before Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman.

Murnan's suit claims that his comment was not racist, and that he commented on the story — headlined "Black man arrested for allegedly executing white five-year-old boy in front of sisters" — on his own time and not as a representative of the hospital. He also alleges that NRHS "has adopted a policy of terminating employees who express ideas inconsistent with their liberal agenda."

The suit also asks for a court injunction forcing NRHS to stop monitoring its employees' social media accounts.

"The policy of Norman Regional Hospital in terminating employees for statements made on Facebook on their own time, and all (on) their own computer has a chilling effect upon the open debate and transfer of ideas which should not be tolerated by this court or any other court," the suit reads.

In its motion to dismiss Murnan's suit, NRHS claims that Murnan's comment is not protected by his First Amendment rights, and notes that, "put simply, racist Facebook commentary is not protected public speech."

"Even though the employee at issue had been at NRHS for 19 years, and was a registered nurse with a skill set in great demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, NRHS did the right thing," the motion to dismiss reads. "It parted ways with an employee who violated the policies and procedures of the hospital, but more importantly, who broke faith with the community NRHS serves."

NRHS' motion to dismiss cites the history of racist lynchings in the U.S., noting that Murnan's termination was especially necessary given last summer's national conversation around race and racism.

The motion to dismiss spells out several reasons why NRHS felt Murnan's termination was appropriate, noting that the former employee's comments were "incongruent and inconsistent with the norms and values associated with being a registered nurse and an employee who serves the public," and that Murnan's post may have affected both NRHS' reputation in the community and his coworkers' ability to feel "comfortable and safe" when working with him.

"Due to the racist connotation surrounding lynching, or race-related hanging, and the offensive nature of the comment which was easily associated with NRHS, combined with the fact that the comment violated NRHS' Off-Duty Conduct Policy and Social Media Policy, NRHS made the decision to terminate Murnan's employment," NRHS' motion to dismiss reads. "NRHS was thoughtful and comprehensive in its approach..."

In response to the hospital's motion to dismiss, Murnan claimed in an additional filing that "he had never been accused of any racial statements and some of his best friends are African American."

Murnan's attorney did not respond to a request for comment Monday. An attorney for NRHS said the hospital does publicly discuss pending litigation.

Emma Keith is editor of The Transcript, where she also covers Norman Public Schools and the University of Oklahoma. Reach her at ekeith@normantranscript.com or at @emma_ckeith.