OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – A former investigator for the Oklahoma State Division of Well being is now suing the state claiming he discovered discrimination within the work place, however he alleges the state wished to cowl it up.
“His job was to analyze and decide whether or not or not discrimination existed,” stated Amber Hurst, Matthew Terry’s lawyer. “I imagine he did all the proper issues. He tried.”
Terry is alleging he misplaced his job by merely doing it.
“Mr. Terry claims that there have been a number of workers that got here to him and reported that they have been being discriminated in opposition to as a result of they’ve both FMLA go away or sought FMLA go away or as a result of they wanted lodging for disabilities, some sort of medical situation,” Hurst stated.
Court docket paperwork go into particulars of a number of the alleged discrimination, saying the Human Assets director “made discriminatory feedback and engaged in discriminatory conduct towards these with disabilities.”
The paperwork additionally state that round June 2019, she stated, “I received’t rent disabled veterans” and that disabled veterans have been “not certified to scrub bogs.”
“Mr. Terry discovered that she had wished to make this harder,” Hurst stated.
Hurst says Terry did discover discrimination throughout the State Division of Well being. In September 2019, Terry reported his findings to his supervisor, the Director of Workplace Accountability Programs. However–
“He was instructed subsequently, as he alleges within the grievance, to switch that report with the intention to discover that discrimination didn’t occur. He refused to take action,” Hurst stated.
Then in November 2019, “Mr. Terry was involuntarily terminated,” saying his “job place had been eradicated.”
“This isn’t a ‘he stated she stated’ case. There are a number of witnesses which have details that may confirm and corroborate Mr. Terry’s model of occasions,” Hurst stated. “Staff needs to be shielded from discrimination.”
The case has been moved from county courtroom to federal courtroom. We did contact The State Division of Well being for his or her aspect of the story however they’ll’t touch upon pending litigation.
