Indian-American nurse files lawsuit for getting fired after supporting Trump in 2016

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Lizzy Mathews, 65, an Indian-American nurse has sued Denver Health Medical Center saying that she was fired for supporting President Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election, according to The Denver Post.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Denver against Kelly Torres, nursing manager, and Marc Fedo, director of acute nursing, alleged that Mathews be given back her pay and receive punitive damages for emotional trauma after the hospital reportedly terminated her employment for having a political conversation with a patient, according to The Denver Post.

According to a breitbart.com report, Mathews was checking in on a patient on Sept. 10, 2016 when the patient, who was watching the election coverage on television, asked her opinion on who would win the 2016 election. Mathews apparently replied that she “hoped Trump” would as she was “praying for him.”

Three days later she received a phone call from the nursing manager informing her that the patient, a former high-ranking employee at the hospital, had lodged a complaint and that she was to be fired and would not be considered for rehiring, the lawsuit claims.

The hospital reportedly claimed that Mathews had been fired for multiple reasons, including that she did not put in enough hours at her job but the lawsuit says that her supervisors did approve her hours.

The lawsuit further states that Mathews’ firing “was motivated by Mrs. Mathews’ exercise of constitutionally protected conduct of association with her political views” and that the hospital “did not fire any other employees for having political conversations at the hospital.”

The suit also states that the hospital committed an act of racial discrimination by firing Mathews because she is Indian-American and went to a nursing school in India as she earned her nursing degree at the Hamidia Medical College Hospital in Bhopal, in 1977 and has been working at Denver Health Medical Center for 27 years.

According to breitbart.com, the Denver Health Medical Center released a statement saying the hospital does not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity.

“As a matter of policy, Denver Health does not comment on pending litigation. As a public hospital, Denver Health has a proud history of diversity and inclusiveness and is welcoming to all,” Breitbard.com reported from the statement. “We have staff members from a variety of backgrounds with a variety of beliefs and work diligently to ensure Denver Health continues to provide an environment in which everyone can feel comfortable delivering or receiving our world-class care,” the statement added.