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The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court alleging that Mercy Health Physicians Youngstown and Bon Secours Mercy Health in Youngstown violated federal law by allegedly subjecting a Jewish orthopedic surgeon to unfavorable terms and conditions of employment and firing him because of his religion and race shortly after the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel.
The Sept. 23 complaint is assigned to Judge Charles E. Fleming in Cleveland.
The suit alleges that the surgeon, of Geauga County, filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC in Cleveland and that the EEOC's Cleveland Field Office gathered documents and information. It then carried out an "administrative process" that resulted in the EEOC finding reasonable cause to believe that the defendants violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
It invited the defendants "to join with the Commission in informal methods of conciliation to (try) to eliminate the discriminatory practices and provide appropriate relief." No conciliation agreement acceptable to the commission was reached, the suit states.
The suit alleges that the surgeon completed a residency in 2015 and completed a post residency orthopedic sports medicine fellowship in 2016 and obtained board certification in orthopedic surgery in 2020. He was "well qualified" for the orthopedic surgeon position he held with the defendants, the suit states.
He was known among management and other staff to be Jewish, the suit states. "Throughout (his) employment with the defendants, (he) was regularly subjected to antisemitic remarks and hostility," it states.
Jewish people were blamed for various conflicts, and the surgeon was singled out "as if he were responsible for defending conflict involving Israel and suggesting that, because he is Jewish, he would know why Jewish people allegedly cannot make peace with their neighbors."
After the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, the surgeon's "work environment was flooded with disparaging comments, including, but not limited to, criticizing what 'the Jews' were doing in Gaza; depicting or describing the attack as the fault of 'the Jews;' saying people should not care or be disturbed by Israelis who had been taken hostage;" and other remarks, the suit states.
At about that same time, the defendants "reduced (the surgeon's) block times available to perform surgery, without his input or agreement, in a manner which adversely affected the terms, conditions and/or privileges of his employment." On Nov. 1, 2023, he was notified that his employment was being terminated as of the end of January 2024. He was given no reason, the suit states.
The suit seeks a permanent injunction preventing the defendants from "engaging in any employment practices that discriminate because of race" or religion.
It seeks back pay and seeks to make the surgeon "whole by providing compensation for past and future (financial) losses resulting from the unlawful practices" listed in the lawsuit.
When this newspaper reached out to Bon Secours Mercy Health Inc. seeking comment on the lawsuit, a spokesperson stated: "As a Catholic ministry, our mission and values guide everything we do. We welcome individuals of all faiths and backgrounds who help us advance our commitment to improving the health and well-being of our communities. No further information will be provided as we do not discuss pending litigation."