A Black man who worked for UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh is suing for racial discrimination after he said a white coworker knitted a monkey doll at work and gave it his name.
Caleb Ferguson, of Munhall, said he was fired a short time after reporting the perceived racial slur to his supervisor.
His lawsuit, which alleges racial discrimination, hostile work environment and unlawful retaliation based on race, was filed Tuesday in federal court in Pittsburgh.
Ferguson started working in the hospital’s transport unit in December 2022, earning positive reviews and a raise, the complaint said.
However, the lawsuit alleges Ferguson was fired on April 6, just days after he complained about two incidents with his co-worker.
That co-worker, a white woman, often knitted dolls while at work, the complaint said.
According to the lawsuit, on March 20, someone at work asked the woman what she was making, and she replied, “‘I’m making a monkey.’ She then held up the unfinished work and said, ‘Look, it’s Caleb.’”
The complaint said that Ferguson’s supervisor was either present when the comment was made or learned about it a short time later.
“Plaintiff was stunned and assumed someone would reprimand [the woman], given how outrageous the conduct was; he was wrong,” the lawsuit said.
A week later, the woman announced that she had finished the monkey and held it up in front of several people, including the supervisor. She said, according to the lawsuit, “‘Everyone, meet Caleb.’”
Ferguson said he immediately went to his supervisor and demanded action be taken against the woman for her conduct. He stressed that it was “humiliating” to be called a monkey — “a well-known and disgusting racial slur,” the lawsuit said.
The supervisor said that he would handle it but did not explain what that meant, according to the complaint. The woman remained employed.
Then, on April 2, the lawsuit alleged, Ferguson had a heated disagreement over a work issue with another employee.
The complaint alleges that such arguments were common in the transport unit, but said that Ferguson was summoned to his supervisor’s office and reprimanded.
The lawsuit claims that the supervisor appeared to be trying to escalate the situation and then abruptly called hospital security because he had a “male in the transport unit acting crazy who needed to be removed.”
Ferguson left the hospital, and was told the next day he was suspended pending an investigation.
He was fired on April 6, the lawsuit said.
A message left with UPMC was not immediately returned Wednesday afternoon.
Ferguson is seeking compensatory damages, as well as back and front pay.
