Kaiser employee claims discrimination over her Palestinian identity in California lawsuit

(CN) — An Arab American employee of Kaiser Permanente sued her employer Thursday over what she describes as escalating, anti-Palestinian rhetoric that culminated in an assault against her.

Mona Joy Kafati claims in her suit that a nurse in late 2023 told her she hated Muslims since the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. The nurse exhibited similar behavior over the next several months and, in August 2024, pushed a chair into Kafati’s legs, leading her knees to buckle. A co-worker who saw the incident said it was on purpose.

An investigation by Kaiser, which found the accusations unsubstantiated, led to no action against the nurse. That nurse, in turn, filed a complaint against Kafati the same day Kafati learned Kaiser denied her appeal, she argues.

“Kaiser did nothing to protect plaintiff,” Kafati says in her suit filed in Alameda County Superior Court. “Every day she walked into a Kaiser facility to work, and every day she faced the employee — a union representative who publicly declared her hatred for Arabs and Muslims, falsely accused plaintiff of being ‘linked to terrorism,’ and then physically assaulted her — she, the Arab American in the equation, was excluded from equal treatment under the law.”

Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and The Permanente Medical Group are listed as defendants.

Kafati told Courthouse News that she remains employed by Kaiser. In her suit, she says she can’t resign, as her children rely on her work insurance for medical care. That left her trapped in a job requiring her to work beside her assailant and forced her to seek a demotion outside of the emergency room.

Kafati notes that she’s Christian, though others perceive her as Muslim because of her Palestinian identity.

In fact, after the nurse’s comment about 9/11, Kaiser asked in May 2024 that Kafati remove a Palestinian flag profile picture, saying it made others uncomfortable. However, Kaiser allowed others to show cultural and national symbols, she says.

Days later, Kaiser demanded Kafati remove the image while others could keep images like rainbow pride flags, Irish flags and shamrocks and “Blue Lives Matter” symbols. Kafati, in June 2024, filed a complaint with Kaiser leadership, which determined that “Kaiser Northern California got it wrong.” Despite that, Kaiser took no action and made no alteration to its diversity program, Kafati says.

The nurse in July 2024 told human resources and management that Kafati’s Palestinian flag was connected to terrorism, that Kafati posed a threat and that others were uncomfortable around her. Kaiser then acted on those false claims, she adds.

Then, on Aug. 8, 2024, the nurse pushed the chair into the back of Kafati’s legs. She reported the incident, but Kaiser took no action, Kafati says.

“I’ve been harassed, assaulted by a co-worker since 2024,” Kafati said in a Thursday press conference. “I brought this to management, to HR, to all the people above me, the leaders above me.

“I tried everything that I could,” she added.

Kafati, in her suit, says the nurse made threatening statements over the next several months. Kaiser refused her request for a different schedule, leading Kafati to transfer around September 2025 to another position.

Kafati says she’s suffered panic attacks, insomnia, stress migraines and nausea stemming from the nurse’s actions. She asks for compensatory damages for the physical pain and emotional distress and punitive damages to stop similar behavior in the future.

“This case is a harrowing example of workplace Islamophobia,” said Reshad Noorzay, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Sacramento Valley/Central California.

Contacted Thursday, a Kaiser media relations representative hadn’t provided a comment by publication time.