Roanoke VA May 18 2018 Five security officers at LewisGale Medical Center seek $2 million in compensation for what they say was race-based job discrimination.

In a suit brought Wednesday against the Salem hospital, the five also seek wages and overtime pay allegedly withheld. This part of the case should be opened to past and present employees with similar claims as an “opt-in collective action,” according to the filing in Roanoke federal court.

Keith Hardy of Roanoke, Kirk Hendricks of Dublin, Shannon Finks of Roanoke and Deion Sanders of Salem, who are black, and Rodrigo Contreras of Roanoke, who is Hispanic, accuse their employer of violating the Civil Rights Act and Fair Labor Standards Act, court papers said.

Barry Booth, hired as hospital security manager in December 2016 after retiring from Roanoke police, “treated the Plaintiffs differently from white employees,” according to the allegations. This resulted in denied promotions, denied requests for paid time off, harsh discipline, unfair treatment and false accusations, the suit said.

Booth is not named as a defendant.

Among other acts, Booth in 2017 hired four white men to positions of special conservator of the peace, a type of law enforcement position regulated by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, and improperly denied the slots to the plaintiffs because of their race, the suit said. The hospital paid special conservators more money than other security officers with more or comparable experience and assigned them to preferred shifts, the suit said. They could use their phones on the job, while other security officers couldn’t, the filing said.

As a result of hospital actions, the plaintiffs lost income, benefits and work options and suffered mental anguish, reputation damage and embarrassment, the suit said. After they complained to management and to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the suit said, the plaintiffs suffered retaliation by the hospital.

“This case seeks to protect and enforce the rights of LewisGale employees in the workplace, including protection against discrimination and retaliation,” read a statement from Fishwick & Associates, which filed the action.

Roanoke police confirmed Thursday that Booth is a former employee who retired as a lieutenant. His service was celebrated in a posting on the department’s Facebook page around the time he left in 2016, not withstanding a 2015 episode when the department said it placed Booth on unpaid administrative leave over “disparaging and insensitive remarks on a social media post.”

A hospital official contested the allegations.

“We believe diversity and inclusion are integral parts of treating individuals with dignity and respect, which are foundational to our core values. We disagree with the allegations of the complaint and intend to defend ourselves vigorously,” hospital spokeswoman Nancy May said.

Martinsville Bulletin

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