Lindy Resident among Four Suing Nassau Health Department

A Lindenhurst resident is among four Latino women who have filed a federal lawsuit against the Nassau County Department of Health alleging that they were subjected to bias discrimination by the agency and three officials within the department.

Betty Martinez-Navarez of Lindenhurst along with Alma Duran of Uniondale, Celina Breton of Uniondale and Anna Miranda of East Meadow, filed the suit in United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Central Islip.

The four women were recently downsized as a result of budget cuts by Nassau’s Department of Health.

Named in the suit are the County Department of Health; Susan McKenna, Women, Children and Infants (WIC) coordinator; Andrea Gatewood, WIC director; and Shelly Schechter, now director of the division of community health.

A spokesperson for the Nassau County Department of Health said that as a result of pending litigation, the department is unable to respond publicly to the allegations in the lawsuit.

According to information from the Carle Place law firm Leeds, Morelli and Brown, P.C., which is representing the four women who filed the suit, the women claim that throughout their employment at the health department they were subjected to numerous “hostile and offensive anti-Latino comments” and were subjected to discriminatory actions because of their national origin.

The complaint also alleges that each of the women were told by supervisors they would be fired if they supported a discrimination suit brought against the county in 2005 by a Latino co-worker, Maria Estrada. That case, also brought by Leeds, Morelli and Brown, was settled last year with a payout by the County.

“The allegations in this case are very troubling," said the women’s attorney, Lenard Leeds, a partner at Leeds, Morelli and Brown P.C. "Employers should not wrongfully subject employees to different treatment because of their national origin."

According to the law firm, Martinez-Navarez, who worked in the WiC program since 1989 as a community service assistant, claims she was subjected to comments about her accent and the way she spoke English and was subjected to numerous derogatory comments about Latinos, as well as threatened with termination because she was called for jury duty.

She also alleged that she complained about discrimination at the agency in 2007 to the EEOC and to county officials, and was threatened with firing if she did so again, according to the lawsuit.

The suit seeks unspecified compensatory, emotional, physical and punitive damages, as well as lost pay.