Former Pathway Director Can Proceed With Retaliation Suit

A former clinical director can continue to allege that youth rehabilitation center operator Pathway violated the False Claims Act’s retaliation provision by firing him for reporting a scheme to defraud Alabama Medicaid, a federal district court said.

Pathway of Baldwin County LLC and Pathway Inc. agreed in 2022 to pay $3.5 million to resolve FCA allegations they billed Medicaid for services they didn’t provide. That settlement resolved several claims raised by whistleblower Richard J. Sheppard, but didn’t cover his retaliation claim.

Here, Sheppard has shown there is a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether he engaged in protected ...