Female doctors allege they were paid less than men, hounded into leaving Des Moines lab
Two female physicians say they were belittled, ignored, subjected to a bawdy workplace, underpaid by hundreds of thousands of dollars and eventually forced to resign from a major Des Moines medical laboratory.
Drs. Tiffani Milless and Caitlin Halverson are suing their former employer, Iowa Pathology Associates and Regional Laboratory Consultants, for wage, sex, age and pregnancy discrimination, harassment and retaliation. Their complaint, filed the week of Nov. 5 in Polk County district court, follows a lawsuit filed last year by Iowa Pathology, accusing them and two other former doctors of breaching their contracts and stealing employees and clients as they departed to set up a rival medical lab in Urbandale.
In court filings, the doctors describe what they say were years of reports and complaints to company leaders that were ignored or brushed aside. They also allege a pattern of retaliation by Executive Director Scott Denker and others toward them, even when they themselves were shareholders and part owners of the practice.
"Defendants excluded Dr. Milless and Dr. Halverson from ownership activities and treated them with outright hostility and distrust," the complaint says. "The hostile work environment was exhausting, humiliating and belittling."
Iowa Pathology has not yet filed a response in court. A representative declined to comment on the allegations, saying the defendants "look forward to sharing our story when the time is right."
Trouble in the medical lab
Iowa Pathology specializes in providing diagnostic lab services for other medical practices and facilities, including major central Iowa hospitals and health networks. Milless joined the practice in 2013, followed by Halverson in 2015. Both are board-certified pathologists.
In addition to their work in the lab, both held a variety of roles with other providers. Milless, among other roles, served as medical director for hospitals in Lucas, Jefferson and Van Buren Counties, while Halverson served as medical director for the Story County Medical Center — additional duties that brought revenue into the practice, but for which the women received no additional compensation, according to their attorney, Paige Fiedler.
A $350,000 wage gap
Both doctors were hired as associates but after several years became shareholders in the practice.
During their time as associates, according to the complaint, Halverson and Milless were both paid hundreds of thousands of dollars less than male doctors with similar or lesser qualifications. Both received a starting salary of $200,000, with annual raises to $250,000 and $300,000 in their first three years.
May 2018: Former prosecutor sues Polk County, alleging sex discrimination, retaliation under John Sarcone
But the two allege that a male doctor hired in 2007 started at $225,000, and over his first three years earned in excess of $350,000 more than they had, despite not having the same level of certifications. Another male doctor, hired in 2022 as Milless and Halverson were departing, started at a salary of $600,000, plus additional bonuses, they allege.
Halverson and Milless say in their suit they were told at their hiring that associate pay was fixed, with no room for negotiation, and only learned in 2022 that their male colleagues had been paid much more than they were.
'Shareholders in name only'
Promotion to shareholder meant the two women were entitled to a share of the practice's profits and in theory a voice in executive decisionmaking. This, they allege, did not happen.
Milless and Halverson said in their suit that their input was routinely ignored, and they were shut out of or not notified of board meetings and hiring decisions. Numerous requests for additional management responsibility, training and mentorship went nowhere, they alleged.
Male colleagues including Denker and Dr. Jacob Sramek, both of whom are named as defendants, routinely referred to the two female doctors as "girls," told them to “let people who know what they are doing,” and in one case refused to appoint Milless to a medical director position, saying "it would be better for (a) man to do it," the women allege.
After they complained about these and other incidents, the plaintiffs say in their complaint, their male colleagues responded with a mix of hostility and avoiding them "like the plague."
A sexually-charged workplace
The plaintiffs in their suit describe being subjected to a variety of sexual situations at Iowa Pathology, ranging from flirting by their decades-older executive director to raunchy jokes about female newscasters to male colleagues who watched pornography on work computers.
One work area at Iowa Pathology was decorated with "a large photograph of a bare-breasted young woman," according to the complaint. The plaintiffs "were told the model was the daughter of one of the shareholders."
From 2021: Prominent Iowa surgeon accused of inflicting vulgar insults, crude sex talk on women in office
Both women also allege they faced workplace discrimination in a variety of ways during and after their pregnancies with their first children. After giving birth, Halverson alleges, male colleagues repeatedly intruded on her while she was pumping breast milk in her office.
Competing practice sparks litigation
In 2022, Halverson and Milless partnered with two other shareholders to start a new, competing practice, Goldfinch Laboratories. In their complaint, they describe their decision to leave Iowa Pathology as "due to the pervasive harassment, discrimination and retaliation."
In December 2022, Iowa Pathology sued the departing shareholders, accusing them of breaching their contracts and wrongly soliciting the practice's clients and employees to join Goldfinch. A judge granted an injunction preventing them from promoting Goldfinch until February 2023.
The Goldfinch partners have filed counterclaims, and the case remains pending.
In their new complaint, Milless and Halverson describe the lawsuit against them and their partners as an "intimidation tactic" meant to pressure them not to pursue their civil rights claims against Iowa Pathology. Attorney Maggie Hanson, representing the Goldfinch partners in the 2022 lawsuit, said in an email that “IPA's claims lack any legal basis. Goldfinch will continue to provide excellent diagnostic services to our patients and clients.”
More: An Army specialist accused a superior of rape. She was discharged. Then, her family found her dead.
In an emailed statement, Iowa Pathology's Sramek also linked the two cases, pointing out that Halverson and Milless filed their Iowa Civil Rights Commission complaint just days after the court's temporary injunction.
"As this civil rights lawsuit matter is related to other, ongoing business litigation with the same former partners, it would be inappropriate for us to provide any further details, but we look forward to sharing our story when the time is right," he said.
Fiedler said her clients were motivated by the years of mistreatment they had experienced.
"Dr. Halvorsen and Dr. Milless never wanted any of this to happen," she said in an email. "They hope that by coming forward with their experience, it may prevent this from happening to other Iowa women in the future."
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com, 715-573-8166 or on Twitter at @DMRMorris.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Female doctors allege they were paid less than male colleagues
