Pagan nurse sues Joplin nursing home owners for religious discrimination

A former staff nurse at the Joplin Gardens nursing home, 2810 S. Jackson Avenue, is suing the owners, N & R of Joplin LLC, for religious discrimination and retaliation.

In the lawsuit, which was filed today in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Lucinda Cox, who had been a nurse at the facility since 2015 and is a Pagan, said she was harassed after Christians were brought in as the administrator and director of nursing in 2018.

Cox claims she was forced to resign in 2019.

From the petition:

Plaintiff is a practicing Pagan. Plaintiff’s managers and co-workers were aware of Plaintiff’s religious beliefs. 

In approximately April 2018, Defendant hired Jacalyn Gacke as the Administrator over Joplin Gardens. Gacke was very open about being a Christian and made the employees aware of her religious beliefs. 

Also in Spring 2018, Defendant hired Marda Sayles as the Director of Nursing at Joplin Gardens. Sayles was also very open about her Christian beliefs. After Gacke and Sayles became Plaintiff’s managers, Plaintiff began being treated differently by co-workers and by Gacke and Sayles because of her religion. 

Sayles stated to employees, including Plaintiff, that she would be making the facility have a Christian atmosphere and required Christian music to be played during lunchtime. Plaintiff also began to be subjected to ongoing and continual harassment for her religious beliefs. 

For example, Plaintiff was accused of digging holes outside the facility and burying something. Gacke asked maintenance to check the grounds for any evidence. 

Plaintiff was accused of dressing in black because of her religious beliefs and hiding among trees in the parking lot. The dress code of another facility where Plaintiff was visited, required the nurses to dress in black. 

Plaintiff was accused of putting a hex on an employee and causing her to be ill. 

Plaintiff complained to management and human resources about the discriminatory and harassing behavior, but nothing was done. Instead, Plaintiff was subjected to retaliatory actions by management and given unfounded discipline and write ups. 

Plaintiff began being held to different work standards from non-Pagan employees. Plaintiff was given a significantly larger load of patients than other nurses. Plaintiff was also disciplined for actions that other nurses were not disciplined for. Plaintiff was denied a vacation request and was required to come to work when she was ill. Non-Pagan nurses were not treated similarly. 

On August 1, 2018, Plaintiff was given her first write up as an employee for Defendant. Plaintiff was written up for allowing her computer screen to turn red which could be an indication that patient medications were administered late. No other nurse had been disciplined for allowing a computer screen to turn red without prior discussion because there were several extenuating circumstances to cause a computer screen to show red. 

For example, the computers could go down or medication could be timely administered but the sign out was delayed. The date that Plaintiff was given the write up, her computer had gone down. 

Despite providing this information to Sayles, Sayles issued the write up and told Plaintiff that she “did not have good nursing judgment.” Plaintiff requested a copy of the write up, but Sayles denied her a copy and told Plaintiff that she could only see it with a subpoena. 

A few weeks later Sayles gave Plaintiff her second write up and was suspended Plaintiff without pay for three days. When Plaintiff returned from suspension a co-worker approached her and told her that she was sorry about the suspension but that she had been handed a piece of paper at work which Case told her that she had to write up Plaintiff for a suspension. 

Plaintiff was written up for having her cell phone on her at work when Plaintiff’s cell phone was broken and not working during Plaintiff’s entire shift. Plaintiff was written up for allegedly stating “if you mess with me, I will make your life a living hell” to a co-worker. Plaintiff never made any such statement. 

Plaintiff was also written up for creating a hostile work environment for allegedly stalking another employee because Plaintiff parked her car by a dumpster in the parking lot when she was looking for her missing cat that had unbeknownst to Plaintiff, ridden to work with her. 

All of the allegations against Plaintiff were false and provably untrue. 

No investigation was done regarding the allegations made against Plaintiff and again, Plaintiff was denied a copy of the write ups and told she would need a subpoena to view it. 

Prior to Gacke and Sayles being Plaintiff’s managers, Plaintiff had an excellent work record and had no discipline issues or complaints about her performance. Despite Plaintiff’s complaints of harassment and retaliation, Defendant failed to remedy or stop the ongoing harassing and retaliatory actions to which Plaintiff was being subjected. 

As a result, and in order to protect her mental health and because of Plaintiff’s daily concerns that Defendant was putting Plaintiff in a position that would require her to work in an unsafe manner toward patients and threaten her nursing license, Plaintiff was forced to resign from her employment. Plaintiff’s last day of work with Defendant was January 3, 2019. 

Defendant has engaged in an ongoing, pattern and practice of religious discrimination/harassment, and retaliation against Plaintiff. Because of the discrimination, harassment, retaliation and constructive discharge, Plaintiff experienced has caused, and may continue to cause, lost wages and emotional distress. 

As a result of the discrimination, harassment and retaliation to which Defendant has subjected Plaintiff, Plaintiff has suffered and may continue to suffer damages, including but not limited to lost wages, lost benefits, loss of earning capacity, loss of career opportunity, costs of seeking alternate income, pain and suffering, emotional distress, humiliation, upset, damage to her reputation, diminished job opportunities, deprivation of civil rights, and in other respects.

Cox, who is represented by attorney Tiffany B. Klosener of the Kansas City firm of Holman Schiavone LLC, is asking for a jury trial and for it to be held in Kansas City.