NORTHAMPTON — A former Cooley Dickinson Hospital employee is suing the hospital claiming she was fired after she told her supervisor she was pregnant.
Shannon Coler, of Amherst, filed a civil lawsuit in Hampshire Superior Court on Tuesday seeking more than $200,000 in damages. Coler worked as a human resources assistant with the hospital. She previously held the position of human resource support staff from November 2014 to May 2015 when she was promoted to the assistant position.
“Shortly after notifying her supervisor of her pregnancy and anticipated maternity leave, her supervisor began criticizing her work performance,” the lawsuit, filed by Northampton attorney Raymond Dinsmore, alleges. “Her supervisor ultimately made a request that Ms. Coler voluntarily resign. Ms. Coler was told by her supervisor that her role in the company ‘wasn’t a positive fit for moving into the future.’ Ms. Coler was subsequently terminated and replaced with a male employee who was provided more advantageous conditions of employment.”
Coler did resign, but attempted to rescind her resignation and was subsequently fired by the hospital in June 2015, according to the lawsuit. Dinsmore declined to comment beyond the allegations in the lawsuit.
Hospital officials said they do not comment on litigation but that CDH “embraces equal employment and advancement opportunities for all individuals.”
Coler also filed a charge of discrimination with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination in September 2015. The complaint was ultimately closed in September 2017 after the commission was “unable to conclude that the information obtained establishes a violation of the statutes,” according to commission documents obtained by the Gazette. The decision was not appealed and the commission stated that the dismissal does not mean the hospital was in compliance with the law.
A court hearing has not yet been scheduled to address the lawsuit.
Emily Cutts can be reached at ecutts@gazettenet.com.