University of Iowa settles with hospital worker in football records case

One of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics employees who was fired in the wake of privacy violations involving the medical records of Hawkeye football players has reached a settlement with the university.

AFSCME Iowa Council 61 filed a grievance with the UI on behalf of Judy Martin, one of the hospital employees fired in January. The UI fired three employees and suspended two others after officials said the medical records of some hospitalized UI football players were accessed inappropriately in January.

A settlement between the UI and AFSCME Iowa Council 61 on behalf of Martin was reached in March, according to the agreement released by the university Monday in response to an open records request.

The settlement does not include a financial payment, but it does change Martin's departure from terminated for cause to a voluntary resignation, effective Jan. 26.

The agreement also says Martin may apply for unemployment benefits and the university will not contest it, that Martin will not seek or accept employment with the UI in the future, and that the union withdraws the grievance.

John Stellmach, president of AFSCME Local 12, a union that represents about 5,000 UI employees, said Martin has a new job and wanted to clear her name in the UI incident. She continues to maintain that she did not access the medical records of the football players, Stellmach said.

"She was pretty upset about the whole situation, which is understandable," Stellmach said. "She wanted to move on, she didn't want to come back to the University of Iowa. It was the easiest way to settle the case and clear her name."

The grievance the union filed on behalf of Martin contested the fact that there was just cause for her firing.

The medical records in this incident belonged to some of the 13 football players hospitalized in January for rhabdomyolysis, an acute breakdown of muscle fibers that results in the release of muscle fiber contents into the bloodstream.