Kaiser Discriminated, Fired Black IT Manager Claims
9-24-2015 22:35:00
ATLANTA (CN) - Kaiser discriminated against a black IT Manager, he claims in federal U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanda Division.
Anthony Freeman sued Kaiser Permanente Insurance Company for race discrimination, age discrimination, disparate treatment and retaliation. He also sued for negligent retention, claiming Kaiser should not have continued to employ his immediate supervisor and his second line supervisor and should have supervised them better.
According to Freeman’s lawsuit, he was the IT Care Delivery Portfolio Manager for the Georgia Region of Kaiser from Dec. 2008 until he was fired in Sept. 2013.
In June 2013, Freeman was given a “performance improvement plan,” (PIP) to correct errors in a presentation he gave to upper management, according to his complaint.
“Mr. Freeman’s role was of coordination and collaboration between the internal and external subject matter experts,” the complaint states. The incorrect information was gathered from a variety of sources, Freeman contends, under the direction of both his immediate supervisor and his second-line supervisor. Yet none of the other responsible parties were blamed for the mistakes, only Freeman, according to his complaint.
Freeman filed a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, he says.
“Upon receipt of notice of right to sue, plaintiff decided not to pursue the matter further with hopes that the issues would cease and the unit could move forward without further incident,” Freeman’s complaint states.
However, when the 90-day deadline to pursue a lawsuit lapsed, Freeman’s supervisors fired him, he claims.
Anthony Freeman seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, back pay, front pay, compensatory and punitive damages, attorney’s fees, costs and a jury trial. He is represented by Crystal M. James of Crystal Sermons in Atlanta.