Employment Discrimination

Bachir v. Saint Agnus Med. Ctr., No. 1:05-CV-01575-FVS-LJO (E.D. Cal. June 5, 2006)

A heart surgeon brought an employment discrimination suit under the Civil Rights Act against two hospitals that denied him staff privileges. The surgeon asserted that he was granted provisional privileges but was subsequently denied full privileges at each hospital because of his Syrian ethnicity. The hospitals both contended that the suit should be dismissed because the surgeon was an independent contractor and not an employee. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California held that since the surgeon was merely seeking staff privileges at the two hospitals, and not an employment relationship, that the surgeon was an independent contractor who was barred from bringing an employment discrimination action.