The Woodlands Psychiatry and Counseling Co., a hospital in Conroe, Texas, is being accused of retaliation by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over the firing of an employee, the federal agency announced July 13.
The EEOC's lawsuit, filed June 29 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, alleges the hospital fired a chemical dependency counselor in August 2019 for making a discrimination charge alleging she was demoted from her position as a clinical manager back to being a licensed chemical dependency counselor following her complaints to her chief nursing officer.
According to the EEOC, Emad Mikhail Bishai, MD, the hospital's owner, texted the licensed counselor on the same day she filed the discrimination charge, telling her not to return to work.
The agency said Dr. Bishai told the employee: "I received your case of discrimination email now," and that she would be charged with criminal trespass if she returned to work. According to the EEOC, the company later told the agency it had to fire the licensed counselor because it could not "afford to have a current employee that is in active discrimination charges against the company for liability reasons."
The EEOC's lawsuit, filed after an attempt to reach a pre-litigation settlement, contends the hospital violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when it fired the employee for making a discrimination charge.
The agency seeks a permanent injunction barring the hospital from engaging in any future retaliation, along with back pay with pre-judgment interest, and compensatory and punitive damages for the discharged employee.
When contacted by Becker's, Dr. Bishai declined to comment directly on the pending litigation.