ST. LOUIS — A former surgical technician at Mercy Hospital-St. Louis has filed a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination and wrongful termination.
Carissii Banks, an African-American woman, claims that Mercy Hospital treated her unfairly compared to white colleagues and ultimately fired her due to racial bias, according to a complaint initially filed in St. Louis County Circuit Court and then removed to U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Missouri-Eastern Division.
Banks, who was employed at the hospital for more than seven years, is now seeking damages for lost wages, emotional distress and wrongful termination.
Banks' employment was terminated in May 2023. She began working at Mercy Hospital in January 2016 as a surgical technician, according to the suit.
Banks claims throughout her employment, she worked under the supervision of Operating Room (OR) Manager Candy Garofalo, a white woman.
The first incident that sparked incident occurred on Jan. 23, 2023, during a surgical procedure. Banks alleges that she engaged in a lighthearted exchange with Arthrex vendor Jake Tanner, with whom she had maintained a friendly professional relationship.
The interaction involved Banks giving Tanner a playful shoulder bump, which she claims was not disruptive, however, the following day, the hospital received a report describing the exchange as a potential workplace violence incident and a review by the hospital’s management stated concerns of a physical altercation during the surgery, which led to an official investigation.
On Feb. 1, 2023, Banks received a Corrective Action Report from the hospital, which concluded that her actions created a potential safety issue for the sedated patient and others in the operating room.
Banks disagreed with the findings, noting that white employees who engaged in similar behavior were not reprimanded.
The plaintiff submitted a written response explaining that no physical altercation took place and that she was not close enough to the patient to cause any harm, according to the complaint.
Banks claims following the incident, she faced further discrimination.
On May 9, 2023, Banks was initially assigned to assist with a procedure in OR Room 4, however, the charge nurse reassigned the task to another employee, the complaint states.
Banks claims later that day, she was subjected to verbal harassment by a nurse named Justine, a white colleague, who insulted her work performance.
Despite these circumstances, Banks states that she was suspended for a week following the incident.
On May 22, 2023, Banks was terminated from her position at Mercy Hospital. She subsequently filed a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Missouri Commission on Human Rights (MCHR) in June 2023.
Banks claims Mercy Hospital violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by treating Banks differently than similarly situated white employees and terminating her employment based on her race.
She argues that her suspension and termination were unjust, and she suffered wage loss, emotional distress and unemployment as a result of the hospital’s actions.
Banks is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. She is represented by Joseph A. Ott and Mark E. Blankenship of Ott Law Firm.
The defendant is represented by James M. Paul and John P. Korb of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart.
Attorneys for the parties declined to comment on the matter.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri-Eastern Division case number: 4:24-cv-01295