Mavrinac v. Emergency Med. Ass’n of Pittsburgh

Discrimination

Mavrinac v. Emergency Med. Ass’n of Pittsburgh,
No. 2:04 CV 1880 (W.D.Pa. Sept. 21, 2005)

A physician brought suit against an
emergency medical association, a hospital, and her former supervisor, alleging
age and gender discrimination as well as various state tort claims. The physician’s
discrimination claims arose from alleged discrimination throughout her employment
that included a denial of a promotion in 1997, denial of a request for a
raise, unfair pay practices, and termination. In addressing the physician’s
federal claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the court stated
the rule that an individual is only allowed 300 days from the date of the alleged
discrimination to file a charge of employment discrimination, unless the individual
can show that the discriminatory act was part of an ongoing practice or pattern
of discrimination. Furthermore, individual acts such as termination and failure
to promote constitute severable unlawful employment purposes. Therefore, the
court held that the physician could not now bring suit for the 1997 failure
to promote because it was a separate action and the 300-day window had expired.
However, the district court held that the physician’s discriminatory claims
in regard to the unfair payment practices should survive summary judgment,
as they do evidence an ongoing practice of discrimination. Furthermore, the
court held that there was sufficient evidence to withstand a motion for summary
judgment on the physician’s claim that the hospital had violated the Equal
Pay Act because the physician had been denied a $5,000 yearly bonus paid to
all but one other physician even though her performance records showed equal
skill, effort, and care in regard to patients.