ALEXANDRIA, Va. (CN) - Kaiser fired a black Surgical Instrument Technician for reporting racial discrimination, she claims in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

     Bernice Manker worked at Kaiser’s Falls Church Medical Center from 2009 until her termination in 2011, first as a GI Technician and later as a Surgical Instrument Technician, according to her lawsuit.

     Manker says she and the only other black person in the department were told they could not wear jewelry at work when a white co-worker was allowed to.

     Manker was called into a meeting with a union representative and a department director when she was late due to car trouble, while no such action was taken against the white co-worker, she claims.

     When Manker broke a testing strip and her boss thought the white co-worker had done it, the boss did not take action against the white worker, according to the complaint. But when she learned it was actually Manker’s mistake, she wanted to add a negative evaluation to Manker’s personnel file, the complaint continues.

     Several times, Manker claims, the boss wanted to put negative evaluations into her file but the department director stopped her. One of her criticisms was that Manker had worked overtime, when she herself had approved the overtime, the complaint says.

     Manker and her union representative confronted the boss because she was giving Manker and her fellow black co-worker unfavorable shifts compared to the white co-worker, the complaint says. The boss yelled at the union rep, called Manker “that woman” and called Manker and her black co-worker “these people,” the complaint continues.

     In September 2011, Manker filed an EEOC complaint, and on Dec. 1 she was fired, according to the complaint.

     Manker contends she was fired in retaliation for her EEOC complaint.

     Bernice Manker seeks $300,000 in compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and costs, pre- and post-judgment interest and a jury trial. She is represented by Katherine Martell and Meredith Ralls of Firstpoint Law Group in Fairfax.