A woman is suing Kaiser Permanente, alleging she was wrongfully terminated in 2022 after taking a medical leave after racial harassment by co-workers caused her to have a nervous breakdown.
Tiffani Link's Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit also contends she was targeted for objecting to getting a coronavirus vaccination on medical and religious grounds. Link's lawsuit allegations include wrongful termination, retaliation, harassment and discrimination.
Link seeks at least $1 million in compensatory damages, plus punitive damages, in the suit brought Tuesday. A Kaiser representative released a statement regarding the complaint.
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"We do not comment on specific details of pending litigation," the statement read. "However, Kaiser Permanente's employees are our greatest assets and we do not tolerate acts of discrimination or harassment in our workplace or against our employees."
In September 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kaiser recognized vaccination as the most powerful tool available to protect employees and the public, to stop the pandemic and to restore safety and normalcy, according to the statement, which further noted that as of Feb. 1, employees are no longer required to get a coronavirus shot to get hired and that those who left Kaiser due to the vaccination policy are eligible to reapply.
Link, now 50, was hired in July 2012 and her last position held before her termination was that of service representative. In the spring of 2021, while working at the Erwin Behavioral Health Services, Link, who is white, was "harassed, bullied and threatened by co-workers because of her race," according to the suit, which alleges that her tormenters were Latinos who said one of their fathers was affiliated with the Mexican Mafia, the suit states.
Link also was called a racist, a derogatory name in Spanish and a "dumb white (epithet)," and her car paint was scratched with a key at work, the suit states.
The department manager declined to do anything when Link complained about her co-workers and instead began giving her writeups and told her she should take racism and sensitivity classes, according to the suit, which also contends that the backlash only got worse when she also complained to a district supervisor.
Link went on medical leave through workers' compensation in June 2021 after having a nervous breakdown, allegedly because of the harassment, the suit states. Kaiser also demanded she be vaccinated against the coronavirus even though she was not working at the time, according to her complaint.
Link objected on religious and medical grounds, but Kaiser rejected the advice of its own allergist who recommended a medical release because of a possible reaction to the shot and fired the plaintiff in August 2022 while she was still on disability leave, the suit states. The company also denied Link the alternative of weekly coronavirus testing offered other workers in lieu of the vaccination, the suit states.
Link believes she lost her job because of her medical disability issues and Kaiser's alleged unwillingness to accommodate her, according to the suit, which further states that the plaintiff will seek damages for lost income and emotional distress.
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