A woman worked at Mount Nittany Medical Center for more than 20 years. Now she’s suing
EDITOR’S NOTE: A settlement was reached in February 2022. No terms were disclosed.
A former Mount Nittany Medical Center employee sued the health care system Tuesday, writing in a federal age discrimination lawsuit that she was cast aside to make room for a younger man.
Lois Hassinger, 60, partially blamed the nonprofit’s restructuring and reduction of administrative and managerial positions at the onset of the pandemic for altering her career trajectory.
“As with any pending legal matter, we are unable to comment at this time,” Mount Nittany Health spokesperson Anissa Ilie wrote in an email Wednesday.
Hassinger, of Boggs Township, worked at Mount Nittany for more than two and a half decades. The longtime employee last worked as a clinical supervisor of the endoscopy center.
Mount Nittany’s administrative changes reclassified supervisor positions as manager positions, attorney Ryan Carroll wrote in the 11-page lawsuit. Supervisors were required to apply if they hoped to maintain their roles.
Hassinger applied for “numerous” managerial positions, Carroll wrote, but her interviews consisted of only scripted questions she deemed irrelevant.
She was not offered any managerial position nor a staff position. Her employment ended in June 2020, Carroll wrote.
“Other employees who had their positions eliminated were permitted to continue working and bid on open positions,” Carroll wrote. “The person selected for the endoscopy manager position is a substantially younger male with no prior endoscopy experience.”
Hassinger is seeking to be reinstated to her previous position, along with all of the wages and benefits she would have accrued. Carroll did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
This story was originally published June 9, 2021 at 12:55 PM.