A former Cleveland Clinic Akron General employee has taken her accusations of workplace bias to court, filing a lawsuit Tuesday that claims the hospital pushed her out because of her race and age, then retaliated when she spoke up. The complaint says managers repeatedly wrote her up, reshuffled her schedule, and funneled prime opportunities to younger coworkers before firing her in 2024. She is seeking financial damages and other relief as the case moves through its early legal stages.
According to the Akron Beacon Journal, the plaintiff is 52-year-old Mandisa L’bert‑Kaalima. Her suit alleges that supervisors hit her with disciplinary write-ups, put new scheduling rules on her that were not imposed on others, and favored younger white colleagues when it came to assignments and advancement chances, she says she never got. The complaint also claims the hospital retaliated after she raised concerns with supervisors and human resources.
Cleveland Clinic’s own public-facing materials emphasize nondiscrimination and spell out internal channels for reporting problems. Akron General’s “Who We Are” and related pages describe an Office of Educational Equity, list civil-rights contacts, and outline processes for reporting alleged mistreatment. The health system’s policy documents and website language state that employment decisions are not supposed to turn on race, age, or other protected traits.
What the law says
Allegations that someone was treated differently at work because of race typically fall under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, while age discrimination claims for employees 40 and older are brought under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Federal guidance from the EEOC and ADEA materials notes that it is also illegal to retaliate against workers for complaining about discrimination and that successful claims can result in remedies that include back pay and damages.
Local context and what to watch
The lawsuit arrives at a time when the Cleveland Clinic system policies are already under a brighter spotlight. Federal attention to race-conscious offerings tied to the Clinic has drawn national coverage and stirred debate about how big health systems try to promote equity while still staying within nondiscrimination rules. Observers say cases like this can prompt hospitals to take a closer look at how schedules, disciplinary write-ups, and advancement decisions actually play out unit by unit…