A former top-doctor at the Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Memphis is suing the hospital, alleging she was harassed and fired from her job in March after she requested accommodation to undergo treatment for breast cancer.

Dr. Clara Finch Cruz filed the lawsuit in July, also accusing Memphis VA leaders of discriminating against her for being a Hispanic woman and using deficiencies that occurred during her medical leave to justify her termination.

Finch Cruz was told to step down from her position as chief of service in January 2017 after she disclosed to the hospital she had cancer and needed reduced hours to receive radiation therapy, according to court documents.

When she refused, Chief of Staff Dr. Thomas Ferguson said he would “remove her,” the lawsuit alleges. Finch Cruz was moved to a different position and for a year “endured attacks on her professionalism, her competency, her character and her job performance” before Director David Dunning approved her termination on March 8.

“This is a woman who was treated horribly as she was comprehending that she has cancer. She was demoted and investigated while undergoing chemotherapy and then ultimately fired,” Kristy Bennett, an attorney representing Finch Cruz said in an interview.

“It’s unbelievable,” she said.

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Memphis VA declined to comment on the lawsuit, though Finch Cruz approved a wavier for the hospital to discuss her case with The Commercial Appeal.

“But the VA does not tolerate unlawful discrimination, harassment or retaliation in any form,” Memphis VA spokeswoman Willie Logan said in an email.

Tressa V. Johnson, an attorney also representing Finch Cruz, called the hospital’s move to fire her client “revealing of their culture.”

“I think it speaks volumes," she said. "The VA is not taking care of their people. The VA is not taking care of their doctors. In this case, for asking a simple accommodation."

Finch Cruz, who is “healthy and doing OK,” is seeking reinstatement, Bennett said.

Step down or be 'removed'

Finch Cruz was diagnosed with breast cancer while on medical leave for an unrelated surgery in September 2016. When she returned to work in January 2017, she requested a reduced schedule through February when her radiation treatment would be completed.

Instead, she was met with a request from Ferguson to step down, the lawsuit states.

“He told her he did not think she should work and that he needed to have someone as Chief who could work 12-hour shifts, despite this not being a job requirement,” the lawsuit alleges.

Additionally, he told Finch Cruz that his mother had worked while ill and that he thought it was not good for her, the lawsuit states.

On Jan. 20, 2017, he presented her with a letter from the Gastrointestinal Tumor Board about concerns regarding delayed specimens from Dec. 30 — 10 days before she had returned to work.

Finch Cruz investigated the issue and learned from Dr. Eugene Pearlman, who had been acting-service chief during her leave, that pathologists had stopped following procedures she had put in place. Three days later, the situation was fixed, the lawsuit states.

But on the same day, Ferguson asked Finch Cruz if she had decided to step down. She emailed him back, copying human resources, VA network leaders and the interim hospital director that she would not step down, “as requested by Dr. Ferguson, because of her breast cancer.”

Five days later, Ferguson told her she had been “detailed” out of her position so that the hospital could investigate her work performance.

Among the hospital’s allegations:

Finch Cruz failed to produce sustained plans from site visits.

Finch Cruz didn’t meet hazardous materials handling standards.

Finch Cruz failed to meet clinical standards of care.

She requested more information on “such vague allegations” but wasn't given any, according to Bennett. She was instead demoted to the position of laboratory director and relocated to a basement office. Pearlman was selected to replace her.

Finch Cruz 'worked tirelessly'

Finch Cruz took over as service chief of pathology and laboratory medicine in 2013, filing a role that had been empty at the Memphis VA for more than five years.

A College of American Pathologist review of the department earlier that year found 42 deficiencies. But when they returned in 2015, Finch Cruz got the number down to seven, according to the lawsuit.

She “worked tirelessly to improve the status of the Service,” and implemented new operating procedures to bring the department up to standards, Bennett said.

According to the lawsuit, Finch Cruz received “excellent” or “fully successful” performance evaluations every year, despite a litany of challenges after assuming the post.

Finch Cruz was on track to receive a pay raise when she was removed as chief and was told in April 2017 the rate would be lowered by Ferguson without any discussion.

Ferguson launched several inspections of areas under Finch Cruz’s supervision. Though the reviews resulted in no major findings, it found deficiencies that arose under Pearlman's watch, according to the lawsuit.

Finally, after Finch Cruz was reported to the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education regarding the specimens in May 2017, she filed a complaint with the EEO.

The Office of Resolution Management accepted several of the instances outlined by Finch Cruz, as “discrete acts” to be investigated and as establishing an overall pattern of harassment.

Forced to take voluntary retirement

The hospital responded by grilling Finch Cruz in a (VA investigatory) board for several days to “conduct a thorough investigation into the fact and circumstances regarding allegation of the failure by Dr. Clara Finch Cruz to perform the duties and responsibilities,” according to the lawsuit.

Finch Cruz alleges the investigation was convened as reprisal for her EEO complaint

A report from the board sent to Dunning in November recommended he take administrative action.

“The reasons cited by the report weren’t accurate and reflect that they met only to find reasons to remove her as an employee all together," said Tressa Johnson, another attorney representing Finch Cruz.

A detailed list of reasons were not provided to The Commercial Appeal.

In February 2018, Ferguson made a proposal to remove Finch Cruz as an employee. Finch Cruz appeal the proposal to Dunning, pointing out the ongoing EEO matter but Dunning approved the removal in March.

Finch Cruz filed a new EEO complaint but accepted involuntary early retirement to keep her benefits because her main concern was to pay for her ongoing cancer treatment, Bennett said.

The VA has until Sept. 21 to respond to the lawsuit.

Yihyun Jeong covers veterans and military affairs for the USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee. Reach her at yjeong@tennessean.com or 615-881-7309. Follow her on Twitter @yihyun_jeong.