A Black woman has filed a racial, age and disability discrimination lawsuit against United Healthcare Services.
Melanie Thompson, 53, filed her complaint December 9 in federal court. She lives in Orleans Parish and says she has been employed in the health care industry for more than 30 years. She had worked for the defendant since September 13, 2013, for two different departments in a shared role between marketing and community outreach.
“Plaintiff had so many titles during her tenure with the defendant that her co-workers referred to her as a ‘jack of all trades,’” the complaint states.
According to the complaint, Thompson worked for the defendant for 10 years before she was discharged August 10, 2023, under what she calls the pretext of job elimination after learning she had been diagnosed with cancer.
“Not only did the defendant eliminate plaintiff’s position, the defendant then gave the area that plaintiff had been working to a younger less qualified and less senior Caucasian employee,” the complaint states. “The defendant also eliminated the position of a Hispanic employee with more seniority and older than the Caucasian employee who was retained in the position by the defendant.”
Prior to her job elimination, Thompson says she applied for at least 20 other positions with the defendant in departments she had previous work experience. She says she was not offered any other position with the defendant.
She was diagnosed with cancer in February 2023. Following that diagnosis, Thompson provided the company with numerous medical leave requests to undergo testing and treatment.
“At the time of the plaintiff’s diagnosis, she was one of three employees working from home and performing ‘community outreach’ events for communities all over the State of Louisiana,” the complaint states. “Despite plaintiff’s medical condition, plaintiff was still performing the functions of her position at a high level.”
The complaint says Thompson was told her position and that of the Hispanic employee were being eliminated because of budget constraints. The younger white woman retained had not been working for the defendant as long, nor did she have any previous work experience in the health care industry, according to the complaint. Her previous job was as a bartender, and she did not have a college degree, according to the complaint.
Thompson says she filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging violations of Title VII, age discrimination and Americans with Disability Act. She says she received a Right to Sue from the EEOC on September 9, 2024.
She says she has been subjected to loss of income, loss of benefits for her and her entire family of five, thousands of dollars of medical expenses as well as increased anxiety and mental distress.
Thompson seeks a permanent injunction enjoining the defendant from engaging in discriminatory employment practices as well as an order requiring the company to provide equal employment opportunities.
She also seeks back pay with pre-judgment interest as well as compensation for past and future pecuniary losses as well as compensation for emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, loss of enjoyment of life, lowered self-esteem and humiliation. She also seeks court costs and other relief.
Thompson is being represented by Clarence Roby Jr. of Gretna.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana case number 2:24-cv-2837