Wrongful termination of hospital employee based on race and retaliation. $1.5M. Los Angeles County.

Facts and Background

• Facts and Background:

  Defendant, The UC Regents employed plaintiff for seven months after first employing her through a temp agency for six months. Plaintiff was a per diem phlebotomist assigned to UCLA Santa Monica Hospital. Plaintiff was removed from the schedule in June 2016. Plaintiff filed a wrongful termination suit.

• Plaintiff's Contentions:

  That plaintiff, an African-American phlebotomist, was subjected to a hostile work environment due to her race by the Regents of the University of California at Santa Monica Hospital.

  That plaintiff was given a disproportionate amount of blood draws, was the subject of false and petty complaints, and was referred to as "morena" (dark-skinned woman in Spanish), "mentirosa" (liar), "perezosa" (lazy) and "vaga" (lazy) by her coworkers. That plaintiff was also subjected to offensive music played at work that had lyrics containing the 'n' word and referred to women with derogatory names. The music was played often in the lab where plaintiff and supervisors often worked.

  Plaintiff complained in writing to her supervisors that she was being bullied and harassed, yet the supervisors ignored her complaints. Instead, plaintiff's immediate supervisor relied on the false and harassing complaints plaintiff's coworkers made about her and terminated plaintiff's employment.

  Plaintiff was terminated within weeks of her child's high school graduation and remained unemployed for fifteen months. Plaintiff's damages include past and future lost wages and emotional distress.

• Defendant's Contentions:

  Defendant is committed to maintaining a workplace free from discrimination, harassment and retaliation of any kind. Ensuring a respectful and inclusive environment is essential to the University’s mission, and employees are encouraged to report any concerns so that they can be reviewed and appropriately addressed consistent with UCLA and University of California policies. 

  Plaintiff was removed from the schedule as a per diem phlebotomist due to poor work performance, frequent failure to comply with the University’s attendance policy, and an incident involving plaintiff making a racially insensitive comment towards a coworker.  Plaintiff was not given a disproportionate amount of blood draws, and multiple witnesses confirmed they never heard plaintiff being referred to in any derogatory names in Spanish. Multiple witnesses also confirmed they never heard offensive music played at work. Defendant denies and disputes that plaintiff is entitled to any damages and maintains any decisions made with respect to plaintiff’s status as a per diem employee were wholly unmotivated or influenced by her race.