Former radiology technician sues Abington Memorial Hospital for discrimination

A former radiology technician at Abington Memorial Hospital has filed a wrongful termination suit against the medical institution and the woman who was his direct supervisor, alleging his firing was due to his complaints of age and sex discrimination a year-and-a-half earlier.

Bucks County, Pa. resident James Boone claims in his civil action, which was filed March 30 at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by Newtown, Pa. attorney Alexis I. Zafferes, that his firing on March 26 of this year was directly related to a discrimination complaint he had filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in late December 2010.

The EEOC complaint, which came mere weeks after Boone had filed an internal complaint with the hospital’s Human Resources department, alleged that Boone received disparaging treatment from his supervisors because of his age, 40, and gender.

According to the complaint, Boone, who was hired by the Montgomery County, Pa.-based hospital in the summer of 2006, was assigned pretty consistent work hours in his position as a radiology technician up until the time he received a new supervisor.

In March 2010, Joan Diaz, who is listed as a co-defendant in the lawsuit, replaced Boone’s former boss as radiology supervisor.

Diaz, who had direct control over Boone’s employment terms, including his work hours, cut all of Boone’s hours on March 1, 2010, and replaced Boone with younger, female employees under the age of 40, most of whom were newly graduated from school, the lawsuit alleges.

Boone had even helped to train some of those very same women technicians when they were still students.

The following month, Boone received very limited work hours, all of which consisted of CPR training and not radiology work, the suit states.

From February through November 2010, Boone regularly requested to be scheduled for radiology shifts, but Diaz did not acquiesce, claiming that the hospital was making cuts to the radiology department, according to the complaint.

“However, several new radiology technologists were hired after Plaintiff’s hours were cut,” the suit states.

Boone finally got scheduled to work for a two-day period in late August 2010, the suit states, but he was abruptly replaced at the last minute by two younger female employees.

Throughout 2011, the lawsuit claims, Boone was scheduled to work only occasional hours, all of which were spent teaching CPR classes and not doing radiology work.

In February of this year, Boone received his five-year pin from the hospital for his services; he was terminated the following month.

The lawsuit accuses the defendants of violating the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act.

The suit contains counts of age discrimination, sex discrimination and retaliation.

“Plaintiff’s sex and/or age was a substantial and/or motivating reason for reducing Plaintiff’s overall work hours, and completely cutting his radiology hours,” the complaint states. “Plaintiff’s termination, which was alleged to be because Plaintiff had ‘stopped working,’ was not justified because Plaintiff received a 5-year employment pin just a few weeks prior to the termination, and worked occasionally throughout 2011 doing CPR re-certifications and teaching CPR classes.”

The lawsuit claims that Boone’s firing was related to the earlier complaints he made against his employer and supervisor regarding sex and age discrimination.

Boone seeks front and back pay, unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, attorney’s fees and other litigation and court costs.

A jury trial has been demanded.

 

The federal case number is 2:12-cv-01599-RB.