Lawsuit: Fired African-American worker alleges racially hostile environment at The Meadows
May 23, 2023 update: The lawsuit was “amicably resolved,” an attorney wrote in a May 2023 letter to a federal judge. No terms were released.
A fired African-American worker accused The Meadows Psychiatric Center of racial discrimination in a federal lawsuit, one that claimed he was subjected to racially divisive treatment from multiple coworkers and patients.
Richard Williams, of Bellefonte, alleged in the lawsuit filed Thursday that one of his coworkers consistently called him “that Black guy,” while another used the N-word so often it was like she was “trying to hit a ‘(N-word) word count.’ ”
The woman claimed she understood discrimination because she “got picked on in elementary school for being a red head,” Williams’ attorney Jordan Wartman wrote.
“She also told the plaintiff that ‘everyone here’ is a Trump supporter and it would be best if he kept his support of Black Lives Matter and other ‘liberal ideas’ to himself,” Wartman added.
Attorney Clark Whitney, who represents The Meadows, wrote in an email Tuesday that the company “denies the baseless allegations and plans to defend the matter vigorously.”
Williams, who worked at the inpatient psychiatric hospital as a mental health technician from July 2020 until he was fired in September 2021, alleged other coworkers accused him of being lazy, dishonest and stupid.
Those allegations, his attorney wrote, were “thinly veiled derogatory references about his race.”
The lawsuit claimed a nurse routinely called Williams “boy” or “home boy,” even though he repeatedly asked her to stop. Other coworkers expressed surprise that Williams “did not sound like or talk like a Black man,” Wartman wrote.
The 11-page suit claimed Williams’ work was subjected to heightened scrutiny by management. The alleged infractions ranged from closing patients’ doors against policy to using his cellphone during work to repeatedly being late.
Two managers warned him in July 2021 he would be fired if he were late again. Two months later, he was 45 minutes late to a shift and was fired a week later.
“The reason given for the plaintiff’s termination was nothing more than a pretext,” Wartman wrote. “Similarly situated white employees were not fired for far worse attendance infractions. The real reason that he was fired was on account of his race.”
None of Williams’ coworkers were named as defendants. He’s seeking unspecified damages from The Meadows.
A failed unionization bid earlier this year brought to light what organizers described as long-standing issues at the facility, including workplace violence and staffing shortages.
The effort also coincided with the hospital’s CEO leaving the top post for a position on a corporate development team. Workers rejected a union by a nearly 2-to-1 margin.
This story was originally published September 6, 2022 at 1:46 PM.