A cardiothoracic surgeon who formerly worked at Sutter Health's Memorial Medical Center in Modesto, Calif., is suing the organization, alleging that he faced racial abuse and discriminatory practices, according to court documents.
Stephen Noble, MD, who worked at Sutter's Modesto hospital and its medical group from September 2018 to March 2020, claims that Sutter Health gave him an employment contract that broke promises and paid him far below the amount other physicians in his specialty made who are not Black.
Dr. Noble claims that Sutter Health refused to put him on the ER call schedule and canceled or reassigned surgeries for patients without his knowledge.
Further, Dr. Noble alleges that Sutter Health established false allegations about Dr. Noble's patient care and productivity. As a result of these allegations, Sutter purportedly slashed his salary by 60 percent, making him the lowest paid full-time cardiothoracic surgeon in the U.S., according to the lawsuit.
Because of Sutter's allegations against Dr. Noble about patient care and low productivity, the hospital placed him under investigation. According to the lawsuit, if Dr. Noble left the organization or resigned, he would have been reported to the medical board in California or added to a federal database that identifies physicians who have a history of malpractice. Dr. Noble alleges that these tactics forced him to work in "a hostile and racist environment against his will."
"Defendants have used these bullying tactics against other Black and minority physicians throughout the Sutter system as a means of intimidation as a way to force the physicians to remain employed by Sutter’s medical groups, and as a way to drastically cut the doctors' pay," the lawsuit claims.
A spokesperson for Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health told the Sacramento Business Journal that it takes the allegations "very seriously."
"Sutter absolutely did not engage in or participate in any discriminatory conduct against Dr. Noble," the statement obtained by the Business Journal reads. "We do not tolerate discrimination of any kind — racial or otherwise — and are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce and medical staff, and a work environment where all of medical staff physicians, nurses and other clinical providers are treated equitably, with dignity and respect, and provided the opportunity to reach their full potential."
Dr. Noble filed the suit Aug. 11 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.