TACOMA, Wash. — Nine employees of Western State Hospital have filed a lawsuit against the facility for allegedly discriminating against them by assigning only white or light-skinned employees to a violent patient. The patient asked to not be treated by non-whites.
The plaintiffs say the alleged policy exposes white employees to more danger and does not allow people of color to do the job they were hired to do, The News Tribune reports. In the lawsuit, the employees asked for undisclosed monetary damages and an immediate injunction halting the alleged practice.
The lawsuit names the state Department of Social and Health Services, Western State Hospital, Dale Thompson – the hospital’s chief operating officer – and Mary Louise Jones, director for the Center of Forensic Studies, as defendants.
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