A Black woman and single mother has filed a lawsuit alleging wrongful discharge and civil rights violations against her former employer, a healthcare organization, and one of its physicians. On November 17, 2025, Sade McGhee filed the complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan against Michigan Healthcare Professionals PC, doing business as Michigan Neurology & Epilepsy Specialists, and Dr. Basel Assaad.
The case details a troubling narrative of alleged racial and gender discrimination that McGhee faced during her employment as a Medical Assistant at Michigan Neurology & Epilepsy Specialists starting July 27, 2023. McGhee accuses Dr. Assaad of treating her disparately compared to her non-Black colleagues by assigning janitorial tasks exclusively to her while exempting others from such duties. The complaint further alleges that Dr. Assaad exploited McGhee’s financial vulnerability as a single mother by expecting silence on unethical practices involving Botox procedures meant to defraud insurance companies. “It was none of your concern if you wanted to keep your job,” Dr. Assaad allegedly warned when McGhee raised concerns about patient safety and fraud.
The complaint also recounts instances where Dr. Assaad allegedly stereotyped McGhee as unreliable due to her race and gender, requiring her to work despite illness and installing surveillance cameras at her workstation without similar measures for other employees. A particularly invasive incident occurred in October 2024 when Dr. Assaad accessed McGhee’s medical records without consent while she was hospitalized with pneumonia, confronting her in the hospital room regarding her illness—a violation of privacy that Corewell Health later confirmed.
McGhee claims these actions created a hostile work environment leading to constructive discharge when she felt compelled to resign on November 11, 2024, citing stress from the circumstances surrounding her employment. She is seeking various forms of relief including compensatory damages for lost earnings and emotional distress, punitive damages for willful conduct by the defendants, reinstatement or comparable employment position, attorney fees, and other equitable relief deemed just by the court.
Representing Sade McGhee are attorneys Michael L. Pitt and Channing Robinson-Holmes from Pitt McGehee Palmer Bonanni & Rivers PC based in Royal Oak, Michigan. The case is being heard under Case ID: 2:25-cv-13650-SJM-DRG before an unspecified judge.
Source: 225cv13650_Sade_McGhee_v_Michigan_Healthcare_Complaint_Eastern_District_of_Michigan.pdf
