Fired Red Cross exec sues, alleging sex and age bias

(AP) - A former executive at the local chapter of the American Red Cross claims she was the victim of sex and age discrimination, and that she was retaliated against and fired after she complained to federal officials.

Linda Hildreth sued the American National Red Cross and its Twin Cities area chapter last week in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis.

She's seeking at least $1 million in damages in the lawsuit, which claims she was subjected to stories about male sexual escapades, off-color jokes and other boorish behavior. The lawsuit also claims she was treated differently than her male counterparts.

According to the lawsuit, Hildreth was put on a "performance improvement plan" a little more than three weeks after she complained about her alleged treatment.

The plan said the Red Cross would review her progress in 30 days, but the day after it was implemented, she was fired from her $120,000-a-year job as the chapter's chief people resources officer.

She was 57 years old at the time.

Jan McDaniel, chief executive officer of the Twin Cities chapter, said she didn't want to speak about Hildreth's allegations, but said: "I'm confident that everything we do here is done with respect and concern and fairness."

The lawsuit says Hildreth and other women experienced bad behavior by male employees.

"Male employees in upper management positions behaved inappropriately towards plaintiff and other female employees and made inappropriate and derogatory comments regarding females but were not terminated or disciplined," the lawsuit alleges.

Hildreth's attorney, Beth Bertelson, said McDaniel and male executives did little to stop the behavior.

"When our client, who is a pretty mild, reasonable, responsible person, raises some concern - and she doesn't do it in any hyperactive way - you'd think Jan would raise an eyebrow and show some concern, and that wasn't done," she said.

The lawsuit also claims that Hildreth's male colleagues were allowed to miss meetings, arrive to work late or miss deadlines to turn in financial statements. The lawsuit claims male employees were seldom disciplined.

Hildreth began working at the organization's Des Moines, Iowa, office - which governs a nine-state area in the Midwest - in 2004.

In February 2006, she was asked to help merge the Minneapolis and St. Paul Red Cross offices, and she commuted between Minneapolis and Des Moines.

In May 2006, she was offered and accepted a full-time position in the Minneapolis office, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit doesn't specify specific complaints that Red Cross supervisors had against Hildreth, and McDaniel wouldn't comment on the firing. But the lawsuit says McDaniel criticized Hildreth for using temporary workers and ordered her to fire them.

The American Red Cross offers help to victims of disasters or other emergencies. Its local chapter had revenues of $10 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30, and it had expenditures of $12.8 million.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)