A Hurricane woman alleges she was wrongfully terminated from Charleston's FamilyCare Health Center because her husband is a black man, according to a complaint filed Wednesday in Putnam County Circuit Court.
Tara Drew, a medical assistant for WomenCare Inc, doing business as FamilyCare Health Center on Pennsylvania Avenue, had been employed by the center since Dec. 2, 2013, the complaint said. Drew, a white woman, married a black man and the two have one child together, according to the complaint.
On Feb. 25, Drew went to the cafeteria inside nearby Charleston Area Medical Center Women and Children's to purchase breakfast, the complaint said.
Drew stepped in line to purchase her $1.60 breakfast consisting of tater tots and French toast, but a man stepped in front of her to purchase her breakfast for her, according to the complaint. Drew protested against the man buying her breakfast, but he had already purchased it, the complaint said.
When Drew arrived back to the facility, she was sent home by her supervisor, Debbie Carte, for violating the corporate policy of "accepting gifts, money, coupons, certificates, or gratuities from persons who have or are receiving benefits or services from the clinic, or from their relatives or friends," the complaint reads.
According to the complaint, the man who purchased Drew's breakfast was 81 years old and was not one of the clinic's patients and had no family member or friend Drew knew of that was receiving services from the clinic.
Carte then allegedly made a comment to Drew that "she didn't know if [Drew] would send someone back and try to rob the gentleman who purchased her breakfast," the complaint reads.
Drew then received a termination letter at her home in Hurricane from the clinic's human resources department in Putnam County, the complaint said.
Violating the clinic's gift policy was pretext, according to the complaint, and Drew alleges the real reason she was terminated was due to her marriage to a black man and being the mother of a mixed race child.
Drew's husband frequently drove her to and from work, the complaint said.
According to the complaint, WomenCare Inc. violated the West Virginia Human Rights Act by terminating Drew.
Additional counts against WomenCare Inc. are common law violations for employment discrimination, negligent infliction of emotional distress, intentional infliction of emotional distress and malice and gross negligence.
Drew is being represented by Kathy Brown Law.
Kathy Brown said the most puzzling part about Drew's termination is that the FamilyCare Health Center Drew works at is a pediatric facility, and the man who purchased Drew's meal was 81 - clearly not a pediatric patient.
"Like I said, this man was 81 years old - it's a pediatric facility. Obviously he wasn't getting benefits there," Brown said. "She had never seen him at the facility with any of his relatives or friends."
Attempts to reach FamilyCare Health Center Thursday were unsuccessful.
Reach Laura Haight at
laura.haight@wvgazettemail.com,
304-348-4843 or follow
@laurahaight_ on Twitter.