The Washington state Court of Appeals has rejected a counterclaim filed by Shriners Hospitals for Children here after it was sued by a woman it fired for allegedly altering time cards.

In a 3-0 ruling, the appellate court panel here affirmed a Spokane County Superior Court judge’s summary judgment dismissal of the counterclaim on the grounds that it wasn’t a legal claim that could be considered under federal or state law and that it was barred by a one-year statute of limitations. 

Margreta Kilgore had sued Shriners in September 2010 for wrongful termination. Shriners countersued in December 2011, asserting Kilgore was liable to Shriners for all damages and economic loss caused by her underpayment of Shriners’ employees while she was its financial services director, appellate court documents say.

Part of Kilgore’s job involved handling payroll. 

Shriner’s policy stated hourly workers had to clock in and out within seven minutes of the scheduled start and end of their shifts unless approved by a manager.

“Administering this policy, Ms. Kilgore edited employee timecards back to within the seven-minute window absent manager approval. Ms. Kilgore and Shriners dispute if Shriners’ management knew of Ms. Kilgore’s actions,” the appellate court writes.

In June 2010, an anonymous employee telephoned Shriners’ ethics hotline and alleged Kilgore and another person falsified employee timecards, court papers say.

Shriners determined the timecard editing violated federal and state wage laws and fired her. Shriners paid $383,000 in back wages to workers in November 2010, court papers say.