On Wednesday, an answer was filed in a racial discrimination lawsuit against Thermo Fisher Scientific. The case was originally filed in the Circuit Court in Wayne County, Michigan, but was later removed to the Eastern District of Michigan. The plaintiff claimed that her former employer, Thermo Fisher Scientific, discriminated against the plaintiff racially after her honest mistake as a result of failure to supervise.
The plaintiff was a peptone worker, who manufactured chemical bases used to develop medications and vaccines. During the course of her employment, the plaintiff claimed that she was harassed and was disciplined more harshly than other employees of other races in the same or similar situations. In one incident in particular, the plaintiff alleged that she was given incomplete instructions for a particular chemical process. The plaintiff asserted that she used the same protocol in using her discretion and used the higher strength chemical. The end product was within the specified strength, however because a different process was used, a different lot number was required, which the plaintiff changed without notifying her employer. The plaintiff was terminated for falsifying records, which the plaintiff alleged was out of proportion to similar incidents that occurred with her colleagues.
The answer concurs that the incident took place, but disagrees with the characterization. Thermo Scientific notes that the industry requires very strict manufacturing guidelines. A batch that was created with a different chemical than was required can behave differently than the expected formulation. Also changing the lot number without proper approval risks doubt in the integrity of all chemicals produced and can result in injury or death.
The plaintiff is suing for race discrimination and improper hiring and retention of supervisory employees. The plaintiff is represented by Batey Law Firm PLLC. Defendants are represented by Jackson Lewis P.C.
