Three former employees of the Radiation Safety Office at the Columbia University Medical Center are suing the University on grounds of religion and age discrimination after being fired in 2010.

Former director of the Radiation Safety Office Salmen Loksen, 61, former office administrator Moshe Friedman, 57, and health physicist Bruce Emmer, 65, are all suing the University on similar grounds, claiming that they were fired because they are Jewish and wear yarmulkes, and because of their age.

Emmer filed his suit in June, Loksen filed his in October, and Friedman filed his in December.

According to the complaints, Loksen and Friedman were summoned in January 2010 by Lisa Hogarty, chief operating officer, and told that the Radiation Safety Office would be reorganized and their positions eliminated. Emmer, on the other hand, was fired in February.

All three claim the University violated its internal policies when it did not receive approval for the restructuring from the Joint Radiation Safety Committee, and that the University went against its commitment to radiation regulation agencies by firing three full-time employees when it had promised to increase staffing.

Doug Levy, executive director of communications and public affairs for the CUMC, declined to comment. In an answer to Emmer's complaint filed in December, the University denied "that there exists any basis in law or fact for Plaintiff's claims." The answer did acknowledge that the men wore beards and yarmulkes and were fired.

According to a letter that Emmer filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Eric Hall, director of the Center for Radiological Research, said to Assistant Radiation Safety Officer Tom Juchnewicz that "a reason for the shakeout is that there are too many yarmulkes in Radiation Safety.'"

No other radiation officers were fired at this time, including four other casual employees.

Loksen filed a discrimination charge with the EEOC in October 2011. Nine months later, the EEOC sent him a letter saying that it was "unable to conclude that the information obtained establishes violations of the statutes," adding that "this does not certify respondent is in compliance with statutes."

In addition, Bryan White, the EEOC outreach program coordinator, noted that the commission might close an investigation as inconclusive when it does not fall under its jurisdiction.
He also said that "there is more success rate in our conciliation process" without litigation, with complaints coming to a resolution in 90 days.

According to Loksen's complaint, his severance letter stated that the reorganization came as a way to consolidate "business operations and functions to create greater efficiency, budgetary constraints and changes in the scope of the department,"

As a result, administrative oversight for the radiation offices was transferred to George Hamawy, a radiation safety officer for the Medical Center, New York Presbyterian Hospital, and New York State Psychiatric Institute, the complaint says. Previously, Hamawy had only practiced in the Morningside campus, where radiation use is non-human only, unlike that of the Medical Center and NYPH, according to the complaint. The plaintiffs claim that it is unreasonable to expect one person to oversee the management of the three diverse institutions.

According to Emmer's EEOC complaint, physicists working in medical physics, as is the case at the CUMC, are required by state law to be licensed medical physicists.

"This raises the question of why two licensed medical physicists, both religious Jews ... were singled out as the only employees of both the CUMC and Morningside Heights' RSO to be eliminated in the 'reorganization,'" Emmer wrote. "The new head of the CUMC RSO is not a licensed medical physicist," a violation tantamount to practicing medicine without a license.

An employee of the University, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of endangering his job, said he didn't know Loksen had filed a lawsuit, adding that "everybody was shocked" after he was fired.

Stephen Balter, professor of clinical radiology, said that he thought Loksen did his job quite well, adding, "You don't have to be incompetent to be laid off, unfortunately."

The termination of Loksen and Friedman came shortly after the Food & Drug Administration began an investigation of the Medical Center on Jan. 5, 2010. The FDA concluded that the Medical Center had committed several violations over four years, including the falsification of documents, according to the New York Times.

In a confidential correspondence with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration provided to Spectator by Emmer, Loksen wrote that it was "apparent that the hasty, unauthorized restructuring of the Radiation Safety Office, and the termination of crucial staff was done by Columbia University in order to try to deflect and obstruct the FDA investigation."

Emmer explained how his termination had been detrimental to the CUMC in his filed complaint with the EEOC.

"One of my functions on Sundays was to be on call in the event of a radiation emergency," he wrote. "On the Sunday after I received the letter of termination, I received a call from the security office of the NYPH concerning a radiation alarm at the hospital because ... no one else was present and able to respond to the call in a timely manner. I told them I was no longer in the position."

In his letter to OSHA, Loksen claimed that David Brenner, the head of the radiation safety program who is named as a defendant, "is presently a principle force behind all of the improper restructuring changes to the Radiation Safety Office outlined above."

Loksen also wrote in his OSHA complaint that Brenner was dismissive of the RSO's safety warnings. Part of the job of the RSO is to make sure research involving radiation follows state regulations.

cecilia.reyes@columbiaspectator.com | @kcecireyes