Pittsburgh Call Center Manager Accused of Racist Conduct to Stand Trial

A supervisor at a Pittsburg call center has been accused of extreme racist behavior towards Black employees. She allegedly referred to the Black employees as “monkeys” and threatened to fire them. She is expected to testify before a jury that will weigh her testimony.

Diane Allen, who served as a director at Allegheny Health Network (AHN), has allegedly used racial slurs toward Black employees, referring to them as “monkeys”. In addition to the alleged discrimination, Allen also made derogatory remarks about Black employees calling them “good blacks and not n*****.”

The allegations began after Santos Albert, a Black employee, was hired as a supervisor in January 2017. After Albert joined the company, Allen allegedly directed unprofessional and derogatory remarks towards him, according to the lawsuit filed in 2021. Plaintiffs allege Allen mocked Albert for shopping at Walmart and K-mart, calling it a “ghetto.”

In another incident, Allen allegedly held a photo of a female employee's Black husband and said, “Look at this garbage, I thought she was a nice girl. He is going to bring her down.”

After learning an employee's daughter would have a biracial child as a single mother, Allen allegedly said, “There you go, there is another welfare baby.”

In yet another incident, when Albert asked about progress on posting an operations manager role, Allen allegedly responded that he needed to focus on “getting those monkeys in line.”

Plaintiffs alleged Allen also bullied staff, and warned employees not to challenge her authority. She allegedly insulted male employees as well.

According to the lawsuit, Allen rejected a job applicant named “Chiquita” saying “With a name like that, don't bring them in.” John Guthrie said Allen tore up the candidate's resume in front of him.

Plaintiffs allege Allen demonstrated ongoing discriminatory behavior towards every employee. In April 2018, she allegedly planned to fire all Black employees in the organization. John Guthrie, who was the direct supervisor of Albert had intervened and said it was not appropriate.

In Albert’s testimony, he said in 2019 Allen required him to attend 6 a.m. meetings and assigned tasks outside his training. Albert said the assignments were intended to set him up for failure so that Allen could terminate him.

Mark R. Hornak, a federal judge, ruled the discrimination lawsuit against AHN may proceed. Hornak cited strong evidence of racial hostility and pervasive harassment. An internal investigation found Allen was terminated in 2019 for her conduct. The judge also cited alleged mismanagement that allowed discriminatory behavior at AHN.

Albert and Guthrie also said discriminatory practices continued within the organization after Allen’s termination. They alleged the practices included unfair performance plans and wrongful terminations. AHN has denied the allegations of discrimination and retaliation.