Former employees claim racial discrimination, wrongful termination at state-operated health care facility.
The John Manchin Sr. Health Care Center, a West Virginia DHHR-operated healthcare facility in Fairmont, WV. PHOTO COURTESTY OF DHHR.WV.GOV
Story Highlights
- Precious Echols and Janyra Howard were suspended and subsequently fired from their positions at the John Manchin Sr. Health Care Center following a verbal altercation with their co-workers on June 20, 2020.
- The pair believe they were terminated unjustly — they were told they were fired for verbal abuse but claim they were on the receiving end of such abuse, which is corroborated by a statement submitted by a witness to the altercation.
- Echols and Howard claim the altercation was initiated by their co-workers, and that leading up they had faced harassment for their participation in protests, which they see as the culmination of multiple incidents of racial discrimination in the work place.
Article by Joe Smith
Appalachian Insider
July 9, 2020
Editor's Note: The original publication of this article featured the names and qualifications of two current employees involved in the June 20th altercation. On July 12, Appalachian Insider received a cease-and-desist letter from one of the nurse's mentioned, requesting her name be removed from the article based on "false truths." She declined to offer a statement of her own. Appalachian Insider has since redacted the names of both current employees involved in the altercation.
Appalachian Insider
July 9, 2020
Editor's Note: The original publication of this article featured the names and qualifications of two current employees involved in the June 20th altercation. On July 12, Appalachian Insider received a cease-and-desist letter from one of the nurse's mentioned, requesting her name be removed from the article based on "false truths." She declined to offer a statement of her own. Appalachian Insider has since redacted the names of both current employees involved in the altercation.
FAIRMONT, W.VA. — Two former aides who were employed at the John Manchin Sr. Health Care Center (JMSHCC) in Fairmont, West Virginia allege they were fired unjustly after their fellow co-workers lied about a verbal altercation, following a month of intimidation after they participated in local Black Lives Matter protests.
According to Precious Echols, CNA and Janyra Howard, CNA, they were suspended from their positions at JMSHCC — a facility under the purview of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (WVDHHR) — on the afternoon of June 20th, 2020, following an altercation earlier in the shift with two other employees. Within a few days, they received notice of their termination.
Both Echols and Howard allege that their co-workers initiated the altercation, and that they had been harassed in the workplace for the better portion of the previous month. Appalachian Insider also obtained a statement from another JMSHCC employee who witnessed the incident, which was submitted to the facility Director of Nursing, Carol Rush, that corroborates the claims made by Echols and Howard.
The harassment alleged by Echols and Howard followed their participation in public protests following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers at the end of May.
Appalachian Insider reached out to Rush for a comment on the matter. She declined an interview, stating “I’m not allowed to give out any information” when questioned about the altercation and subsequent suspensions.
An email requesting an interview on the matter was also sent by our publication to Shevona Lusk, the Chief Operating Officer of the WVDHHR Office of Health Facilities. As of publication, we have not received a response to that email.
Echols and Howard spoke in detail with Appalachian Insider about their history at the facility, and they said they faced multiple incidents of what they perceived as racial discrimination from fellow co-workers and the administration which made them feel uncomfortable in the workplace.
According to Precious Echols, CNA and Janyra Howard, CNA, they were suspended from their positions at JMSHCC — a facility under the purview of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (WVDHHR) — on the afternoon of June 20th, 2020, following an altercation earlier in the shift with two other employees. Within a few days, they received notice of their termination.
Both Echols and Howard allege that their co-workers initiated the altercation, and that they had been harassed in the workplace for the better portion of the previous month. Appalachian Insider also obtained a statement from another JMSHCC employee who witnessed the incident, which was submitted to the facility Director of Nursing, Carol Rush, that corroborates the claims made by Echols and Howard.
The harassment alleged by Echols and Howard followed their participation in public protests following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers at the end of May.
Appalachian Insider reached out to Rush for a comment on the matter. She declined an interview, stating “I’m not allowed to give out any information” when questioned about the altercation and subsequent suspensions.
An email requesting an interview on the matter was also sent by our publication to Shevona Lusk, the Chief Operating Officer of the WVDHHR Office of Health Facilities. As of publication, we have not received a response to that email.
Echols and Howard spoke in detail with Appalachian Insider about their history at the facility, and they said they faced multiple incidents of what they perceived as racial discrimination from fellow co-workers and the administration which made them feel uncomfortable in the workplace.
“She basically just wanted us out. We felt it was an unfair suspension, because she told us we were being suspended because of what they said about us, but we had our accusations too. But to her, I guess it didn’t matter.”
— PRECIOUS ECHOLS, SPEAKING ON HER SUSPENSION.
The Altercation
The morning of June 20th started as most normal days did at work for Echols — for her, that meant she was helping one of the residents.
“As soon as we got there, myself and Tajae [Mason] were asked to pull up people to release one of the midnight shift aides, and when we did that, Janyra was already passing trays,” Echols said. “When me and Tajae finished, we went to go help her, and then Janyra needed help with someone.”
Echols said that she decided to go with Howard to help pull more residents up for breakfast while their co-worker, Tajae Mason, CNA, continued to pass out trays. While they were in the process of helping their residents, Echols said an announcement was made over the intercom that all the aides needed to report to the food cart.
“Myself and Janyra went to the front, and we explained that we were helping [pass trays], we just had to finish pulling the residents up. [Redacted name] had an attitude and she told us that she wasn’t the one with a problem and that we needed to talk to [redacted name],” Echols said.
According to the aforementioned report submitted to Rush by an eyewitness, who Appalachian Insider has chosen to keep anonymous, Echols’ story is corroborated by what happened on that employee’s end.
“I saw the trays had arrived on the floor, and some trays and beverages had been removed from the food cart. Just a couple minutes later, [re-dacted name], very abrasive in her demeanor, stated through the Plexiglass divider, ‘where is my help passing trays’ as she tossed both arms up in the air at her sides,” the statement reads.
“[Redacted name] stated with a snarky grin she would handle that, and she paged for all staff to come to the food cart.”
That employee then stepped back into the nurse’s office to continue a phone conversation with Rush — who had not yet arrived on scene that day — to update her on a scheduling matter, according to the statement. While she was talking to Rush, Echols and Howard arrived back at the food cart, and the other witness heard the verbal altercation ensue.
“When I saw [redacted name], I explained the same thing — we’re helping, we just have to finish pulling people up,” Echols said. “From there, [redacted name] yelled ‘stop it, stop acting like this’ very loudly.”
“She [also] put her hands up in our face,” Howard said.
Echols said she and Howard were confused by [redacted name] apparent anger over the situation, and didn’t want the situation to escalate out of control. But her attempts to further explain the situation and calm her co-worker down failed.
“She continued yelling at us, and then [redacted name] told all of us to shut up, and it just got quiet from there. That’s when they went to call Carol Rush,” Echols said.
On the statement submitted by the anonymous employee, it reads “I had not been in the office but a couple minutes when both day shift nurses came in, and as I was ending the call with Carol, [redacted name] requested the phone to speak with her.”
That employee then stepped out of the office so [redacted names] could have privacy on their call, and returned after the pair had finished the call to gather some papers they had left behind. According to the statement, Echols then entered the vicinity, but remained in the doorway to speak.
“She was not upset [and] did not raise her voice despite being interrupted multiple times. After I saw the behavior she was displaying, calm and collected...I stated ‘let her speak’ and made it known that we are all late at times and that should not gauge how employees are treated,” the statement read.
“Precious Echols walked away after multiple attempts to fix the situation. She even stated that we are all adults and we should try to get along for the residents as she removed herself from the situation. I, at that time, left as well.”
“As soon as we got there, myself and Tajae [Mason] were asked to pull up people to release one of the midnight shift aides, and when we did that, Janyra was already passing trays,” Echols said. “When me and Tajae finished, we went to go help her, and then Janyra needed help with someone.”
Echols said that she decided to go with Howard to help pull more residents up for breakfast while their co-worker, Tajae Mason, CNA, continued to pass out trays. While they were in the process of helping their residents, Echols said an announcement was made over the intercom that all the aides needed to report to the food cart.
“Myself and Janyra went to the front, and we explained that we were helping [pass trays], we just had to finish pulling the residents up. [Redacted name] had an attitude and she told us that she wasn’t the one with a problem and that we needed to talk to [redacted name],” Echols said.
According to the aforementioned report submitted to Rush by an eyewitness, who Appalachian Insider has chosen to keep anonymous, Echols’ story is corroborated by what happened on that employee’s end.
“I saw the trays had arrived on the floor, and some trays and beverages had been removed from the food cart. Just a couple minutes later, [re-dacted name], very abrasive in her demeanor, stated through the Plexiglass divider, ‘where is my help passing trays’ as she tossed both arms up in the air at her sides,” the statement reads.
“[Redacted name] stated with a snarky grin she would handle that, and she paged for all staff to come to the food cart.”
That employee then stepped back into the nurse’s office to continue a phone conversation with Rush — who had not yet arrived on scene that day — to update her on a scheduling matter, according to the statement. While she was talking to Rush, Echols and Howard arrived back at the food cart, and the other witness heard the verbal altercation ensue.
“When I saw [redacted name], I explained the same thing — we’re helping, we just have to finish pulling people up,” Echols said. “From there, [redacted name] yelled ‘stop it, stop acting like this’ very loudly.”
“She [also] put her hands up in our face,” Howard said.
Echols said she and Howard were confused by [redacted name] apparent anger over the situation, and didn’t want the situation to escalate out of control. But her attempts to further explain the situation and calm her co-worker down failed.
“She continued yelling at us, and then [redacted name] told all of us to shut up, and it just got quiet from there. That’s when they went to call Carol Rush,” Echols said.
On the statement submitted by the anonymous employee, it reads “I had not been in the office but a couple minutes when both day shift nurses came in, and as I was ending the call with Carol, [redacted name] requested the phone to speak with her.”
That employee then stepped out of the office so [redacted names] could have privacy on their call, and returned after the pair had finished the call to gather some papers they had left behind. According to the statement, Echols then entered the vicinity, but remained in the doorway to speak.
“She was not upset [and] did not raise her voice despite being interrupted multiple times. After I saw the behavior she was displaying, calm and collected...I stated ‘let her speak’ and made it known that we are all late at times and that should not gauge how employees are treated,” the statement read.
“Precious Echols walked away after multiple attempts to fix the situation. She even stated that we are all adults and we should try to get along for the residents as she removed herself from the situation. I, at that time, left as well.”
The statement submitted to Carol Rush — the Director of Nursing at the John Manchin Sr. Health Care Center — by an employee who witnessed the June 20th altercation.
The Aftermath
After the altercation, the staff members all returned to work as normal, and Echols and Howard thought that may be the end of it. But peace would only be maintained for a short while.
Howard estimates it was “a couple hours after that” that Rush made her way into the office, and the first action she took was to tell Echols, Howard, and Mason to “pack their things.”
“She told us to pack our things and meet her by the elevator. We were confused. We got everything we needed and we went down to the elevator, and she told us to come into her office,” Howard said.
The three proceeded to follow their director’s orders, and once the four of them were alone in Rush’s office, accusations were levelled at the three that conflicted with multiple accounts of the altercation.
“She said we were in trouble for cursing on the floor, for being disrespectful and loud,” Howard said.
“We were told we were being suspended for verbal abuse, and when we explained ourselves, [Rush] didn’t want to hear it...we were all emotional and stuff, because we didn’t know what was going on,” Echols said.
Rush proceeded to tell the three employees to write a statement after the punishment had been levied, but they were forced to do it on the spot with no chance to gather themselves during a tense, highly-emotional meeting.
“She told us we had five minutes to write the statement,” Howard said.
“She basically just wanted us out,” Echols said. “We felt it was an unfair suspension, because she told us we were being suspended because of what they said about us, but we had our accusations too. But to her, I guess it didn’t matter.”
Echols and Howard felt that the accusations did not line up with how they recalled the incident, and that is corroborated in the statement submitted by their fellow co-worker.
“I at no time heard any cursing...or witnessed them raising their voices or arguing. Without a doubt, they were already passing trays and pulling up residents for breakfast when the page was made,” the statement reads.
“I did hear [redacted name] raise her voice by the med carts. I do not remember what she said, only that she had an unpleasant tone and was addressing the other three aides on the floor, and she was not corrected for this behavior or reported to the [Director of Nursing].”
Four days after the suspension was issued, Echols and Howard received a call notifying them that they were being terminated immediately. Mason still hasn’t received a termination notice herself, but has yet to hear back on the current status of her suspension.
A History of Racial Discrimination
While Echols, Howard, and Mason are all of African-American descent, there’s no definitive proof that the altercation and subsequent suspensions were brought upon by their race.
What Echols does claim is that she and Howard have seen about a month’s worth of harassment in the workplace that she perceives as racial in nature. This began after Echols and Howard started to join local pro-black protests sparked by the death of George Floyd in late May. She feels those previous incidents may have motivated [redacted names] to lie about the June 20th altercation.
“Before that confrontation, we have had previous things happen with them, and ever since we started the protests some racial stuff has started. We’ve reported it, but nothing has been done about it,” Echols said. “It’s possible [it’s racially motivated], because for them to lie, and say that we started it, we were very confused about why that happened.”
The day before the altercation, Echols and Howard had attended a celebration for Juneteenth — a holiday with varying official recognition celebrated on June 19th. The holiday commemorates Union army general Gordon Granger announcing federal orders in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, proclaiming that all slaves in Texas were free, over two years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
In the hours between the altercation and the suspension of Echols, Howard, and Mason, during which the trio was still working, Echols and Howard allege that their co-workers were vocally degrading the idea of people celebrating Juneteenth. While that alone seems to be a racial aggression towards Echols and Howard, they claim that’s not the first incident they have had in the workplace that could be perceived as racial in nature.
“It first started after our first protest which was on May 30th, we did a protest in Fairmont — when we went to work the next day, they were laughing and making fun of us and saying that the protests are stupid,” Howard said. “They even took their phones and went around showing [pictures and videos] to the residents, the people we actually take care of, and the other staff.”
“They were just harassing us and making us feel very uncomfortable, and we actually took it to our Director of Nursing and she said that she wasn’t going to do anything about it.”
During another occurrence, the pair recall a television set in the facility was broadcasting a news channel, which was playing footage of a Black Lives Matter protest in a different state. They said that their co-workers were laughing while the footage of the protest played.
“There was one scene where the police officers were hitting people, and they were laughing, and one of them said ‘that’s what they get, they deserve to get beat up’, just talking about it out loud that this movement is stupid and that these people are stupid,” Echols said.
After the June 20th altercation and suspensions, Echols and Howard were informed of more aggressions toward Tajae Mason and her mother, Deanna, who also works at the facility.
“Tajae has still been on suspension. Recently [redacted name] was cleaning out Tajae’s locker, and her mom was curious as to why because no one said she had been fired yet, so she went and spoke to people in the office about it,” Echols said.
“When she came back to work that night, she had pictures of her and her daughter on her locker, and there was a big ‘X’ on her face and her daughter’s face marked out with a Sharpie. She reported that, and nothing has been done about that either.”
What Echols does claim is that she and Howard have seen about a month’s worth of harassment in the workplace that she perceives as racial in nature. This began after Echols and Howard started to join local pro-black protests sparked by the death of George Floyd in late May. She feels those previous incidents may have motivated [redacted names] to lie about the June 20th altercation.
“Before that confrontation, we have had previous things happen with them, and ever since we started the protests some racial stuff has started. We’ve reported it, but nothing has been done about it,” Echols said. “It’s possible [it’s racially motivated], because for them to lie, and say that we started it, we were very confused about why that happened.”
The day before the altercation, Echols and Howard had attended a celebration for Juneteenth — a holiday with varying official recognition celebrated on June 19th. The holiday commemorates Union army general Gordon Granger announcing federal orders in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, proclaiming that all slaves in Texas were free, over two years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
In the hours between the altercation and the suspension of Echols, Howard, and Mason, during which the trio was still working, Echols and Howard allege that their co-workers were vocally degrading the idea of people celebrating Juneteenth. While that alone seems to be a racial aggression towards Echols and Howard, they claim that’s not the first incident they have had in the workplace that could be perceived as racial in nature.
“It first started after our first protest which was on May 30th, we did a protest in Fairmont — when we went to work the next day, they were laughing and making fun of us and saying that the protests are stupid,” Howard said. “They even took their phones and went around showing [pictures and videos] to the residents, the people we actually take care of, and the other staff.”
“They were just harassing us and making us feel very uncomfortable, and we actually took it to our Director of Nursing and she said that she wasn’t going to do anything about it.”
During another occurrence, the pair recall a television set in the facility was broadcasting a news channel, which was playing footage of a Black Lives Matter protest in a different state. They said that their co-workers were laughing while the footage of the protest played.
“There was one scene where the police officers were hitting people, and they were laughing, and one of them said ‘that’s what they get, they deserve to get beat up’, just talking about it out loud that this movement is stupid and that these people are stupid,” Echols said.
After the June 20th altercation and suspensions, Echols and Howard were informed of more aggressions toward Tajae Mason and her mother, Deanna, who also works at the facility.
“Tajae has still been on suspension. Recently [redacted name] was cleaning out Tajae’s locker, and her mom was curious as to why because no one said she had been fired yet, so she went and spoke to people in the office about it,” Echols said.
“When she came back to work that night, she had pictures of her and her daughter on her locker, and there was a big ‘X’ on her face and her daughter’s face marked out with a Sharpie. She reported that, and nothing has been done about that either.”
Photo of the vandalized pictures from Deanna Mason's locker.
Even before the protests started and added a layer of racial tension in the workplace, Echols and Howard always felt there was a culture of racism at the facility. They recall previous times when the schedule was designed so that all of the black employees would work on one weekend, and that all of the white employees would work on a separate weekend.
“We had questioned that...all the white people would work together, and [Rush] would show up. I do have a couple friends there, and they said they would make a joke of it, and call [the weekend with white staff] the ‘white-out’,” Howard said.
Echols and Howard also claim that white workers with less experience than the two of them would be assigned to train new employees. In addition, they allege that they would often be left alone by co-workers in the workplace to handle the majority of the workload, and would be ignored and, in some cases, ridiculed for asking questions about what they should do.
“They wouldn’t help us at work, they would leave us to do things by ourselves instead of doing the work together...they would raise their voice and yell at us if we asked a question, or they would laugh it off so we never got a direct answer,” Howard said.
“[Rush] didn’t care what was going on. We made it clear that we felt uncomfortable even working with them, because we were always getting laughed at and talked about. She didn’t try to help us out or make us feel comfortable working there,” Echols said.
The pair claims they’re currently looking into the process of taking legal action against the facility, but didn’t offer any additional information on that front.
What they did want to make known, though, is that their experiences at the facility made them feel intimidated and unsafe while on the job, and that it interfered with their ability to properly take care of the residents placed in their care. Now, they want to make sure others who may consider working at the facility understand the type of treatment they may need to expect in the workplace.
“It made it very uncomfortable working all the time. It was a lot of tension,” Echols said.
“It was a lot of stress, too. We were there to take care of people and it felt like we couldn’t do our job properly, because we couldn’t get any help or any answers for our questions. It just felt like a very hostile environment,” Howard said.
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If you enjoy our content and/or support the type of coverage we aim to bring to the region of Appalachia, please consider donating to our organization at the link below if you have the extra money. There is no minimum donation required, and every cent counts! Thank you, and we hope you continue to enjoy Appalachian Insider's coverage.
