Plaintiff Andrea Summers filed a lawsuit against her former employer, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, on Wednesday in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The lawsuit follows alleged discriminatory and retaliatory actions against Summers by two of her white female supervisors, Holly Sabatino and Tracy Windemere.
Summers is an African-American female citizen in the United States andThe Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is a “charitable nonprofit hospital organization devoted exclusively to the care of children.” The plaintiff was employed by the hospital as a nursing assistant in the neonatal intensive care unit for more than 20 years when she was abruptly fired from her position on November 17, 2020. She asserted that her termination occurred as a result of her race.
After two of her white female supervisors behaved in an inappropriate manner towards the plaintiff, and she reported them, the complaint explained. Summers claimed that her supervisors, Sabatino and Windemere, engaged in retaliatory actions when they terminated her as a result of the report.
The reports were communicated to the hospital’s compliance department when Sabatino allegedly spoke to Summers “in a disrespectful manner” and falsely accused her of delaying the delivery of a patient to another floor. Further reports were filed when Windemere falsely accused the plaintiff of taking an unauthorized work break. The reports were filed in March and April of 2020.
Following the filing of the reports, Summers noted that Sabatino “began to interact and speak to Ms. Summers in a condescending manner, unlike the way she interacted with non-White Nursing Assistants.” The mistreatment allegedly continued until October 6, 2020, when Summers was issued a Disciplinary Action Report that accused her of committing a violation of policy C7, which she maintained is something she did not violate. She was then suspended from work for 10 days as a result of the alleged violation.
After the plaintiff was accused of violating another policy by Sabatino, she was forced to be on a Performance Improvement Plan, required to enter an Employee Assistance Program, attend therapy, and meet with Sabatino every other week. Sabatino filed two more “baseless” Disciplinary Action Reports following these, which culminated in the termination of the plaintiff on November 17, 2020. Summers asserted that she “has suffered, is now suffering and will continue to suffer emotional distress mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life and other non-pecuniary losses as a direct and proximate result of defendant’s discrimination and retaliation.”
The complaint cites violations of the Civil Right Act of 1866 and demands a trial by jury. Summers is seeking a declaration that CHOP engaged in illegal race discrimination and retaliation, favorable judgement, appropriate job relief including reinstatement, litigation fees, and any other relief deemed necessary by the Court.
The plaintiff is represented by the Law Offices of Robert T. Vance, Jr.
