Woman who contracted covid, missed work sues nursing home for race and age discrimination

A 76-year-old nurse who had to miss work for more than three months after she contracted covid-19 is suing the Wilkinsburg nursing home that employed her for race and age discrimination.

Yvonne Manns, who began working at Pennwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on West Street in 2013, said in the federal lawsuit that she was terminated on July 12, 2020.

A message left with the nursing home Wednesday morning was not immediately returned.

Manns was a house supervisor, the complaint said, and was responsible for overseeing other nurses and aids, as well as patient care.

The lawsuit contends that Manns, who is Black, “frequently witnessed Black employees being treated less favorably than white employees.”

Among the allegations, Black employees were fired for arriving late to work, but white employees, who were caught stealing patient medications and overdosing on the job were ignored by the all-white management, the lawsuit said.

Manns became seriously ill on April 8, 2020 and was rushed to the emergency room., according to the lawsuit. The nurses there told Mann that at least nine Pennwood patients and staff members had tested positive for covid-19.

Manns, too, was positive. She was unable to work from then until July.

The lawsuit said that Manns stayed in contact with Pennwood throughout her illness, and during that time, senior administration changed several times.

Manns said that during her absence, other staff repeatedly urged her to return to work because the nursing home was understaffed.

The complaint alleges that on July 6, Manns made arrangements with the director of nursing to return to work later that month.

However, three days later, the lawsuit said, Manns was informed she would not be permitted to return. No reason was given, the complaint said.

Pennwood hired several agency, temporary workers after Manns’ termination, who all quit, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges that the facility refused to return Manns to work because of “her age and/or covid-19 diagnosis,” and because of her race.

According to a database managed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, as of the week of April 18, Pennwood reported five total resident cases of covid-19, five staff cases and one resident death since the start of the pandemic.