Resident/Discrimination

Mawaldi v. St. Elizabeth Health Ctr., No. 4:04-CV-2146 (N.D.Ohio Aug. 8, 2005)

A resident physician sued his program after his resignation from the program and subsequent failure to gain admission to another residency program. The federal District Court for the Northern District of Ohio found that his Title VII claim failed as to the two individual supervisory physicians because a Title VII claim cannot be maintained against an employee in his or her individual capacity. As to the physician's Title VII claim against the hospital and program, the court found that no hostile work environment existed because the conduct cited by the physician was neither frequent nor severe. The court also found that the physician did not receive disparate treatment based upon his national origin because he failed to point to a single non-protected, similarly situated person who was treated differently than him. He also failed to demonstrate that he was treated differently based on his religion. The court additionally found that the physician's claim of defamation failed because he failed to demonstrate that any member of the program acted with malice when writing less than exemplary reference letters for him. Finally, the court held that all state claims for tortious interference with contract and intentional infliction of emotional distress failed because the plaintiff did not bring forth evidence to prove those claims.