McCoo v. BJC Health System

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedMay 24, 2024
Docket4:24-cv-00714
StatusUnknown

This text of McCoo v. BJC Health System (McCoo v. BJC Health System) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McCoo v. BJC Health System, (E.D. Mo. 2024).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI EASTERN DIVISION

TREINA MCCOO ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) No. 4:24-CV-00714 SPM ) BJC HEALTH SYSTEM, et al., ) ) Defendants. )

OPINION, MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Before the Court is self-represented plaintiff Treina McCoo’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis. [ECF No. 2]. After reviewing plaintiff’s financial information, the Court will grant plaintiff’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis. Based on the reasoning set forth below, plaintiff will be required to amend her complaint on a Court-provided form within twenty-one (21) days from the date of this Memorandum and Order. Plaintiff’s failure to do so will result in dismissal of this action, without prejudice. Legal Standard on Initial Review Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2), the Court is required to dismiss a complaint filed in forma pauperis if it is frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. To state a claim, a plaintiff must demonstrate a plausible claim for relief, which is more than a “mere possibility of misconduct.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 679 (2009). “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. at 678. Determining whether a complaint states a plausible claim for relief is a context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw upon judicial experience and common sense. Id. at 679. The court must “accept as true the facts alleged, but not legal conclusions or threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements.” Barton v. Taber, 820 F.3d 958, 964 (8th Cir. 2016). See also Brown v. Green Tree Servicing LLC, 820 F.3d 371, 372-73 (8th Cir. 2016) (stating that court must accept factual allegations in complaint as true but is not required to “accept as true

any legal conclusion couched as a factual allegation”). When reviewing a pro se complaint under § 1915(e)(2), the Court must give it the benefit of a liberal construction. Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520 (1972). A “liberal construction” means that if the essence of an allegation is discernible, the district court should construe the plaintiff’s complaint in a way that permits his or her claim to be considered within the proper legal framework. Solomon v. Petray, 795 F.3d 777, 787 (8th Cir. 2015). However, even pro se complaints are required to allege facts which, if true, state a claim for relief as a matter of law. Martin v. Aubuchon, 623 F.2d 1282, 1286 (8th Cir. 1980). See also Stone v. Harry, 364 F.3d 912, 914-15 (8th Cir. 2004) (stating that federal courts are not required to “assume facts that are not alleged, just because an additional factual allegation would have formed a stronger complaint”). In addition,

affording a pro se complaint the benefit of a liberal construction does not mean that procedural rules in ordinary civil litigation must be interpreted so as to excuse mistakes by those who proceed without counsel. See McNeil v. United States, 508 U.S. 106, 113 (1993). The Complaint Plaintiff Treina McCoo filed this pro se employment discrimination action on May 21, 2024. [ECF No. 1]. She brings this action pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), as amended, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e, et seq., the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 621, et seq. and Title 42 U.S.C. § 1981 (§ 1981 action). Named as defendants are BJC Health System, doing business as BJC Health Care, as well as individual supervisors at BJC: Sophia Easterling; Cassandra Wallace; Carolyn Standiford; and Alexandrea Elmore. [ECF No. 1]. The complaint is typewritten. Plaintiff brings claims for race and age discrimination in the terms and conditions of her employment, as well as retaliatory discharge under Title VII and the ADEA. Plaintiff also appears

to be bringing a race discrimination claim under § 1981 relating to the terms and conditions of her employment, as well as a retaliation claim relating to her discharge. Last, plaintiff brings what are presumably state law claims for “wrongful termination, workplace violence, emotional distress damages, and defamation of character.” Plaintiff states that she was employed at BJC from 1988 until 2000 at BJC, whereupon she left her employment, and then she returned to work at BJC in November of 2021. [ECF No. 1, p. 2]. She asserts that she began work at BJC as a childcare educator, later became an Emergency Medical Technician, and later became a Registered Nurse (RN), and took on the job as an Assistant Nurse Manager. Id. She states that she worked at various locations at BJC throughout Missouri and Illinois. Id.

Plaintiff complains that due to her race and her age, she was discriminated against by being given the responsibility for three office locations, which was “unprecedented,” and although promoted, she lacked necessary training and was given an excessive workload. [ECF No. 1, p. 2]. She makes the conclusory allegation that BJC was a difficult place to work for African Americans, and that BJC had trouble retaining African American employees. Id. In late 2021, plaintiff claims she was accused by an individual named Cassandra Wallace who was supposed to be training her, of “stealing time.” Id. She asserts that she “inadvertently” discovered a zoom-recorded meeting wherein she was the topic of conversation of unnamed white managers who were discussing how they could get rid of plaintiff and another black employee. Plaintiff claims that the topic of the meeting was that even though several of the managers acknowledged they had failed to train plaintiff as to her job duties, she was still catching on to the job. The implication, according to plaintiff, was that they needed to get rid of her because their plan was not working. Id.

Plaintiff complained about the recorded meeting to an individual named Elizabeth Schickler and told her that it appeared to be discriminatory due to her race and age. Id. Plaintiff also relayed other racial issues that had arisen at work, however, she indicated that she had “no desire to address the racial issues, [she] just wanted to be trained and do [her] job.” Plaintiff asked to join the diversity team, and she did so. Id. Shortly after plaintiff’s meeting with Schickler, plaintiff was given a letter of expectations from Sophia Easterling. Plaintiff maintains that she was meeting all the expectations on the list at that time, and in fact, she had previously received recognition for her work from parents, patients and family/caregivers. Id. After being given the letter of expectations, plaintiff started suffering retaliation. She claims that a white medical assistant was given more authority than her. However,

plaintiff does not explain what she means in relation to this claim.

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McCoo v. BJC Health System, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mccoo-v-bjc-health-system-moed-2024.