Ali v. Calumet Med. Ctr., Inc. — Sept. 2013 (Summary)

EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

Ali v. Calumet Med. Ctr., Inc.
No. 13-C-0766 (E.D. Wis. Sept. 23, 2013)

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin granted in part and denied in part a hospital’s motion to dismiss a physician’s claims for racial discrimination, invasion of privacy, and breach of contract.

The physician, a Pakistani national, claimed that he was treated differently than similarly situated white employees while employed by the hospital. The physician alleged that upon joining the hospital staff, he was given $20,000 in loan forgiveness and a $10,000 signing bonus and was told that that was the maximum amount allowed; however, white medical providers were given $100,000 for loan forgiveness and a $50,000 signing bonus. He also claimed that he was required to work more days than white providers. He asserts that he was terminated in part because of his complaints to the leadership and that white providers were not terminated for their complaints.

The court allowed the physician’s §1981 discrimination claim to proceed, finding that the physician had sufficiently pleaded that he was treated differently than white medical providers in various conditions of employment by identifying the decision-makers who had discriminated against him and identifying the instances. The court also found that the physician had alleged sufficient facts to state a claim for breach of contract against the hospital because the alleged facts raise the inference that the reason the physician was fired, for complaining about hospital procedures, was not a sufficient basis to terminate his contract. Furthermore, he was not provided the required 90-day notice. The court rejected the physician’s invasion of privacy claim, reasoning that the physician was speculating about what was done with information that he was seeing a psychiatrist because the physician admitted he had no knowledge regarding the facts.