African-American Nurse Sues Michigan Hospital For Racial Discrimination, Father Requests She Not Care For His Baby

The suit claims that Tonya Battle was caring for a baby in the neonatal intensive care unit of Hurley Medical Center, when the child’s father requested to speak to a supervisor. The man reportedly pulled up his sleeve and revealed a tattoo believed to be a Swastika, after which the baby was immediately reassigned to another nurse, WNEM reports.

According to court documents, Battle was “shocked, offended and in disbelief that she was so egregiously discriminated against based on her race and reassigned.”

A staff meeting was subsequently held to inform the hospital's nurses of the father's demands and the new policy regarding his child, the documents go on to say.

In addition, Battle claims that, when she returned to work the next day, she found a note on the nurses' assignment clipboard that read, “No African-American nurse to take care of baby.”

According to WNEM, the child’s father was notified that the hospital would no longer honor his request, however, African-American nurses continued to be barred from assignments to the baby for the next month, the suit details.

Officials at Hurley Medical Center told the news source that they cannot comment on any pending legal matters.

Battle has worked for the hospital for 25 years, since 1988.