A staff nurse loses their job after reporting instances of patient abuse at their hospital to the State Board of Nursing. The nurse thinks they were unfairly dismissed and initiates a whistleblower lawsuit against their former employer. Which of these scenarios closely resembles employer retaliation?

The nurse was discharged after writing a detailed social media post discussing the alleged patient abuse.

The nurse was discharged after three unsuccessful attempts at progressive discipline had failed.

The nurse was fired after formally filing a complaint in writing to hospital administration.

The nurse was fired after threatening to give full details of the patient abuse to local media sources.