In a recent civil rights complaint, Lethornia J. Whiticar, Jr. has filed a lawsuit against the Parish Hospital Service District for the Parish of Orleans, doing business as New Orleans East Hospital (NOEH). The complaint was filed on May 17, 2024, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
The plaintiff, Mr. Whiticar, alleges that he faced racial discrimination and retaliation during his tenure at NOEH. According to the complaint, Mr. Whiticar began his employment with NOEH on August 6, 2018, in the Plant Operations Department (POD). Throughout his employment, he received positive performance evaluations and eventually rose to the position of Chief Engineer. However, Mr. Whiticar claims that Karl Warner, his immediate supervisor and POD’s Facilities Director at the time, treated him differently compared to his Caucasian predecessor.
Mr. Whiticar's allegations detail several instances where Warner failed to acknowledge or support him in his role as Chief Engineer. For example, Warner did not discuss job duties or ongoing projects with Mr. Whiticar and denied him access to essential areas and resources needed for his job. Additionally, when Warner was absent from work, he refused to allow Mr. Whiticar to act as the interim Director over the department—a responsibility that had been granted to previous Chief Engineers.
The situation reportedly worsened when Warner announced his retirement plans in late 2022. Danielle S. Willis, NOEH’s Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer at the time, informed Mr. Whiticar that he would be promoted to Facilities Director following Warner's retirement and even planned a six-month training program for him. However, upon learning about this decision, Warner vehemently opposed it and suggested Kaitlyn Applewhite for the position instead—despite her lack of qualifications.
Warner allegedly began undermining Mr. Whiticar by questioning his character and professional capabilities while sabotaging vital hospital equipment to discredit him further. On November 24, 2022, Mr. Whiticar reported these concerns to NOEH’s Human Resources department but faced retaliation shortly after: on January 13, 2023, he received an unprecedented poor performance evaluation from Warner and was subsequently demoted back to Engineer I.
Mr. Whiticar accuses NOEH of violating multiple federal laws including the Civil Rights Act of 1866 (42 U.S.C §1981) by subjecting him to intentional race-based discrimination and retaliation for opposing such practices within the workplace.
The plaintiff seeks various forms of relief from the court including back pay; front pay; lost benefits; compensation for mental anguish; humiliation; loss of reputation; loss of enjoyment of life; compensatory damages; prejudgment interest; attorney’s fees; costs associated with these proceedings; nonpecuniary damages due to egregious conduct intended to offend or aggrieve him emotionally.
Representing Mr. Whiticar is attorney Karl Bernard from Karl Bernard Law LLC based in New Orleans while presiding over this case is Judge Carl J Barbier with Magistrate Judge Donna Phillips Currault assisting under Case ID: 2:24-cv-01287-CJB-DPC.