Security guard sues Western State Hospital for second time

A worker at Western State Hospital has filed the second lawsuit against her employer since 2008.

Jacquie Doss has worked at the Lakewood psychiatric hospital for 26 years, most recently as a security guard.

She initially sued the hospital for alleged sexual discrimination, and settled the matter in 2009.

Her new lawsuit, filed Wednesday, alleges supervisors have created a hostile work environment and that she’s been discriminated against based on her race, age and gender.

Doss, who is African American, said she was bullied, didn’t get promotions and was harassed by her superiors in retaliation for the first lawsuit and settlement.

The latest suit names the state Department of Social and Health Services, former DSHS secretary Kevin Quigley, Western State CEO Ron Adler and others.

“The Department of Social and Health Services was notified of the lawsuit on Friday and will review the allegations and consult with our colleagues in the Office of the Attorney General on how to proceed,” DSHS spokeswoman Kathy Spears said in a statement.

“Retaliation and discriminatory behaviors are unacceptable, and DSHS works diligently with its 18,000 employees to ensure their workplace rights are protected.”

According to her lawsuit, Doss reported alleged bullying to human resources, to supervisors and to Adler.

“Her requests to have incidents investigated have not been addressed or have been erroneously investigated such that there have been no findings against the aggressors,” the suit states.

Doss says in her suit that supervisors denied her training opportunities, and told co-workers she didn’t get along with others and was difficult to work with.

She also alleges supervisors isolated her from people who liked to work with her, and made references to her being “sue-happy.”

According to the suit, one supervisor allegedly was told to try to get Doss to “act like a typical black girl and go off,” in an attempt to start a confrontation to get Doss fired.

It also alleges that managers hired employees specifically to find wrongdoing in Doss’ work, and to make the workplace hostile.

At one point, the suit states, a supervisor changed protocol, which kept Doss from her keys and resulted in her getting trapped in a ward with patients.