Terminated Cedars Nurse Ties Firing to Discrimination Complaints

A previous nurse at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center has filed a lawsuit against the institution, claiming that her aspiration for a lasting profession in medicine was destroyed due to unfair treatment from Filipino managers and colleagues. She also alleges that she was dismissed under false pretenses after voicing concerns over this mistreatment.

Camyle Meier's lawsuit filed with the Los Angeles Superior Court accuses her employer of gender discrimination, retaliation, breaching a contractual agreement, violating the principle of good faith and fair dealing, failing to stop harassment, discrimination, or retaliation, not taking appropriate corrective actions, and intentionally causing severe emotional distress.

Meier has mixed heritage, being half Caucasian and half Japanese. In her lawsuit filed on Wednesday, she is seeking both compensatory and punitive damages. A spokesperson for Cedars stated that the institution refrains from commenting on ongoing legal matters.

When Meier was just 5 years old, she had her first dream about pursuing a medical career. This aspiration became even stronger after her sister developed meningitis; according to the lawsuit, this event cemented her determination. The legal document also mentions that since her sister received treatment at Cedars-Sinai Hospital, Meier aspired to work there too.

Meier was nearing completion of her bachelor’s degree in nursing when the hospital extended her a job offer, which she described as a "dream come true," according to the lawsuit.

"Nevertheless, the plaintiff's aspiration swiftly transformed into a nightmarish experience," the lawsuit claims.

Meier was placed in a team comprised largely of Filipina women who had been working together for around 12 years, according to the lawsuit. This made the plaintiff stick out significantly. On her initial day, her Filipino colleagues put coffee inside her backpack, and subsequently, her personal items were interfered with, as stated in the legal document.

The sentiment of racial hostility was evident," the lawsuit claims. "This marked the start of the plaintiff's ongoing harassment, exclusion, mistreatment, intimidation, sidelining, bullying, and sabotage by the Filipino staff in her department at work.

Meier claims that her Filipino coworkers fabricated grievances against her and imposed excessive oversight on her tasks. They also tasked her with caring for the most challenging and burdensome patients, thereby positioning her to fail due to inadequate preparation provided.

When Meier opposed actions she considered illegal, she reportedly faced increased harassment as retaliation.

Two days prior to completing her six-month probationary period, she was placed on leave and subsequently dismissed due to an alleged breach of the company’s time-recording policy, which she claims differed from what had been provided to her earlier, according to the lawsuit.

Meier argues that the supposedly discriminatory behavior she experienced breached Cedars' policy, which prohibits unequal treatment of employees based on factors like race, gender, and age, and also protects staff members from facing reprisals for filing legitimate grievances.

Meier argues that she has experienced not only lost income but also emotional distress due to being terminated from her position.

According to the lawsuit, “The plaintiff took no actions to generate the highly stressful circumstances that the defendants… imposed upon her.” The legal document does not specify the year of her termination.