Over the last decade, Dr. Tara Gustilo had served successfully in various leadership roles at HHS. She created a program to reflect cultural differences in birthing practices to better serve her diverse patients.
But over time, her colleagues transformed this program into racially segregated care. When Dr. Gustilo voiced her objections, advocated for race-neutral care, and criticized racial essentialism on her personal Facebook page, her colleagues told her that she, as a person of color, should hold the same race-essentialist views they do and could not lead because she does not share those beliefs. HHS then removed her from her position as Chair of the OB/GYN department. Dr. Gustilo has now filed an EEOC discrimination charge against HHS.
Dr. Gustilo alleged she was demoted from her role as chairwoman of the OB-GYN department for the Hennepin Healthcare system in Minneapolis because of social media posts she made criticizing the rhetoric of Black Lives Matter and critical race theory and is taking legal action against it.
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"I am now taking legal action against Hennepin Healthcare system due to my deep concern regarding the direction the institution is now taking and how it may affect the care given to our patients," Gustilo said in a video posted to her Twitter account. "I'm honored to report that, personally, I have one of the highest patient satisfaction ratings of all the doctors at Hennepin Healthcare and in the nation."
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"However, despite all of these accomplishments, I was recently demoted because of my personal beliefs," she went on.
The controversy started after the killing of George Floyd in 2020, Gustilo noted.
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"As a biracial woman with multiracial children, I was worried for our well-being and that of our community," she added.
"Some of my colleagues saw my posts and decided that I was no longer fit to be chair of the department," she explained, adding that she has spent her career trying to create a "multicultural and inclusive care environment."
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Many of Gustilo's colleagues responded to her personal opinions by accusing her of being racist, having a mental breakdown, and of being unfit to lead her team, she recalled, noting that her employer lied about her performance to justify her demotion since it knew it could not penalize her for merely having political opinions it didn't like.
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"They claim that I was late to meetings, have poor communication skills, and was generally unfit to serve as chair," she said.
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A human resources manager eventually admitted to her that her personal beliefs were the reason for her punishment, Gustilo maintained.
Gustilo filed an EEOC discrimination charge against the Hennepin Healthcare system. She is being represented by FAIR network attorney Daniel Cragg of law firm Eckland & Blando, according to the FAIR website.
The Hennepin Healthcare system told the Washington Examiner it has not received the discrimination charge from Gustilo's lawyer and refused to comment on pending litigation.
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