The former CEO of OHSU (Oregon Health & Science University) Healthcare, who was ousted earlier this year after a little more than three months in the role, has filed a civil suit against the academic system alleging wrongful termination, whistleblower retaliation and discrimination.
Tarek Salaway stepped into the CEO seat last December, from a senior vice president title at Kaiser Permanente, and was terminated from the $1.4 million post in early April.
Public records released over subsequent weeks outlined an investigation in which staff described unprofessional and aggressive behavior toward others, with the system telling press he had "engaged in behavior that did not fit our culture and values"—characterizations Salaway contests in his suit seeking $15.5 million from the organization.
Salaway’s suit was filed on Aug. 13 in Oregon’s Multnomah County Circuit Court, and first reported on by Portland Business Journal.
According to media reports, the complaint describes an executive who sought to hit the ground running on operational and quality issues at the health system, but faced pushback from colleagues including top clinical and human resources leadership.
Some of this, Salaway alleges, was due to his colleagues’ comfort in maintaining the “status quo.” In other instances, the former executive—who identifies as a gay, Muslim man of color—said he perceived comments regarding some of his preferred leadership appointments as well as himself as sexist, racist and discriminatory.
One key incident outlined in OHSU’s investigation report and Salaway’s lawsuit occurred in early March shortly before he was placed on involuntary leave.
Per an anonymous witness statement outlined by OHSU, a hospital administrator leaving the organization said she had learned Salaway had allegedly referenced strangling her and, in a gesture, cutting her throat in a conversation with an executive assistant. The administrator also told OHSU’s investigators that Salaway had often belittled her during conversations and correspondences.
Salaway’s contesting account was that he was musing to the executive assistant on whether he should continue to push a point of disagreement the administrator, or wait until her planned departure.
During that conversation, according to his complaint, “Mr. Salaway made a hand gesture similar to a baseball umpire, moving his thumb from above his shoulder in a ‘strike three, you’re out’ motion.” The suit also says that the complaint, which was reported secondhand, “was rooted in deep-seated racism and virulent anti-Muslim sentiment by painting a professional like Mr. Salaway as a violent individual.”
Salaway’s complaint goes on to describe the subsequent investigation into his conduct as a pretense for his eventual firing. It also notes that Salaway had submitted his own account of his experiences and broader concerns with the OHSU’s culture, as well as a formal complaint. He alleged that OHSU has not released these to the public in order to maintain its narrative regarding the former executive’s alleged conduct. A district attorney has ordered OHSU to release the full investigative file to local news outlets, though OHSU sued in June to avoid complying with that order citing “a legal obligation to protect individual employee and whistleblower privacy rights.”
In an emailed statement the academic system said “Salaway’s termination was not related to concerns raised about alleged patient safety or quality, or bias of any kind. OHSU will vigorously defend against those allegations. OHSU refers back to its previous statements and will otherwise decline to comment on this pending lawsuit.”