(File Photo of a Gavel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Youngstown, OH) The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today that Mercy Health Physicians Youngstown, LLC and Bon Secours Mercy Health, Inc. (Mercy) in Youngstown, Ohio violated federal law by subjecting a Jewish orthopedic surgeon to unfavorable terms and conditions of employment and firing him because of his religion and race, shortly after the October 7th, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel. 

According to the EEOC’s suit, the surgeon had a successful practice with Mercy for many years and performed well, including exceeding Mercy’s productivity goals

However, Mercy subjected the surgeon to remarks that were antisemitic throughout his employment and fired him in November of 2023, as well as advising him that he was being let go for a reason that was not his work performance.  

The EEOC charged that during the employment of the surgeon, Mercy also subjected him to treatment that was unfavorable which interfered with his practice because of his race and religion. 

This alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and this prohibits discrimination on the basis of race and religion.

The EEOC filed suit (called EEOC v. Mercy Health Physicians Youngstown, LLC and Bon Secours Mercy Health, Inc., Case No. 1:26-cv-02500-CEF) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio after the commission first attempted to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its process of administrative conciliation.