Oregon Health Authority managers quietly removed longtime equity director Leann Johnson’s employment rights just days before firing her last year, according to a federal lawsuit accusing state officials of discrimination and whistleblower retaliation.
Johnson's public and controversial termination last June complicated new agency director Sejal Hathi's agenda even as she publicly prioritized the agency’s goal of eliminating health inequities by the year 2030.
Johnson, who is Black, had long guided the agency’s efforts on diversity, equity and inclusion while pushing the health authority’s leaders to sharpen their focus in a manner that was not always welcome. Her firing, coming two days after the national Juneteenth holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, sparked questions for equity advocates as well as public criticism and morale issues among agency employees.
Johson's suit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Portland, contains new allegations and details of the runup to Johnson’s termination by agency Director Sejal Hathi — including that, without telling Johnson, top personnel managers for the health authority put a memo in her file that on June 18 converted her position from what’s known as a “management service” employee to a position that has fewer job protections under Oregon law.
That was three days before the meeting at which Hathi fired Johnson.
“No one ever notified Ms. Johnson about the memorandum or change in her employment status” before that meeting, according to the suit. It contends that the change in Johnson's employment rights was not valid under state civil service rules.
A state spokesperson declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.
A document prepared by Hathi explaining the firing had questioned Johnson's communication style. In the wake of Johson’s firing the agency issued a statement on Hathi’s behalf stressing Hathi's commitment to equity, saying progress requires a “whole-agency and whole-systems approach.”
While the Equity and Inclusion Division that had been headed by Johnson would remain a leader in those efforts, the statement said, “every division must be equipped, resourced, and supported to take greater responsibility and leadership to ensure equity is woven into every corner of our work.”
Johnson ‘scapegoated’ over investigation delays, suit claims
It's not uncommon that a new director makes changes in top managers. Regardless, Johnson's efforts had critics as well as fans within the agency.
As reported in The Lund Report last year, Johnson had clashed repeatedly with the same personnel unit that eventually helped remove her, while questioning what she considered discrimination against employees of color. She also questioned actions by top leaders including Hathi.
The suit provides additional alleged examples of Johnson’s clashes with Hathi and states that Hathi was defensive and “appeared to become tense when employees, including Plaintiff, provided constructive criticism or feedback. This was in stark contrast to the environment Plaintiff observed the previous OHA Director foster in which employees were encouraged to share feedback and concerns.”
Sparked by personnel managers’ concerns, Hathi initiated a closer look at delays in discrimination investigations conducted by the unit headed by Johnson, according to public records obtained by The Lund Report. Hathi later cited those delays in a memo documenting reasons for the termination.
Records later obtained by The Lund Report showed that investigations conducted by the equity program sometimes took years in violation of state standards — including some involving alleged harassment as well as fears about personal safety.
According to Johnson’s suit, however, the equity manager had “repeatedly made many efforts to secure adequate staffing” to conduct the investigations in a timelier way, and in the time before her firing, “she was finally successful in reorganizing the department and getting people into the right roles.”
However, the suit said, “Johnson did not receive any meaningful coaching, and OHA denied her any opportunity to address or explain any allegations against her. Instead, Plaintiff believes that the State scapegoated her for its own problems with the agency backlog of hiring and investigations, which are much larger systemic problems mostly outside of Plaintiff’s control.”
After Johnson’s firing, the agency assigned two new staffers to her unit to help address the delays and reported significant progress in addressing them.
The suit cited statements about the delays released to The Lund Report by the agency after Johnson’s firing, calling them false and “stigmatizing.”
The suit said Johnson has suffered “adverse physical and mental health effects as a result of the discrimination, retaliation, and hostile work environment she endured at OHA.”
