Isom v. Wesley Med. Ctr. – Sept. 2015 (Summary)

RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AND RETALIATION

Isom v. Wesley Med. Ctr., Civil Action No. 2:14-CV-190-KS-MTP (S.D. Miss. Sept. 23, 2015)

The District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi denied a defendant medical center’s motion to dismiss an anesthesiologist’s Title VII racial discrimination claims against it, as well as the anesthesiologist’s retaliation claims against the chief executive officer.

The medical center argued that the anesthesiologist was an independent contractor, not an employee, for purposes of the Title VII claim, and pointed to the services agreement between it and the anesthesiologist. The court held that whether an individual is an employee under Title VII is a “fact-intensive inquiry” that relies upon a multi-factored analysis, and that it would be “imprudent” to rely solely upon the language of the agreement.

The court also denied the CEO’s motion to dismiss with regard to the anesthesiologist’s claims for racial discrimination and retaliation. The court held the anesthesiologist had alleged sufficient facts to make a plausible claim of discrimination and retaliation because the anesthesiologist alleged he was terminated by the CEO one week after lodging a complaint against the CEO with the medical staff because the anesthesiologist had been prohibited from firing a white physician even after the anesthesiologist reported the physician’s clinical weaknesses to the CEO.