Marlin Mejia v. Chico's Fas, Inc.

**Prison Employee's Medical Care Lawsuit Partially Moves Forward** Marlin Mejia, who appears to have been an employee or detainee at Hutchinson Correctional Facility, filed a lawsuit claiming he was denied proper medical care on January 23-24, 2019. He sued 13 people, arguing they deliberately ignored his serious medical needs, which violates the Eighth Amendment's protection against cruel and unusual punishment. The court reviewed Mejia's complaint and threw out most of his claims, finding they didn't have enough legal merit to continue. However, the judge allowed his main claims about being denied medical care to move forward against 12 of the 13 defendants. The court told Mejia he needs to provide better reasons why his case against the 13th defendant should continue, or that claim will likely be dismissed too. **What This Means for Workers:** This case shows that employees in correctional facilities have some legal protection when it comes to receiving adequate medical care. While it's difficult to win these types of lawsuits - as shown by most claims being dismissed - workers do have constitutional rights that can be enforced in court when employers deliberately ignore serious medical needs.