The office manager and former girlfriend of a New York orthopedic surgeon has sued that surgeon in federal court accusing him of having her followed by a private investigator and arrested on false charges of embezzlement. Included in the lawsuit is their hospital employer, who the office manager claims protected the surgeon.
Susanne Schafmeister, the manager of operations at New York University Langone’s Foot and Ankle Center, filed suit against New York University Langone Orthopedic Hospital and John Kennedy, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon and Professor at NYU Langone Hospitals’ Department of Orthopedic Surgery. In her lawsuit, Schafmeister accuses Dr. Kennedy of “outrageous discriminatory, harassing and threatening behavior”. She also claims their hospital employer’s actions and failure to act subjected her to “blatant and unconscionable retaliation.”
The Complaint
In a complaint filed in the Southern District of New York, Schafmeister details her relationship with prominent surgeon Dr. Kennedy. Schafmeister says their relationship began shortly after she moved to the United States from Germany in 2005. In 2007, she began working for Dr. Kennedy in his private practice as an operations manager. From 2007 until 2018, Schafmeister and Dr. Kennedy continued both their romantic and business relationships.
In 2018, Schafmeister claims “the romantic relationship between Ms. Schafmeister and Dr. Kennedy had soured owing to various lies and deceitful conduct on his part.” During this time, Dr. Kennedy accepted a job with NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital and requested that Ms. Schafmeister also be hired. In late December 2018, Ms. Schafmeister accepted a position as revenue cycle manager with the Department of Orthopedic Surgery working with Dr. Kennedy.
Schafmeister alleges that Dr. Kennedy began to subject her to “discriminatory harassment and retaliation in the workplace for her decision to end the relationship.” Schafmeister alleges that Dr. Kennedy continued to request Schafmeister perform personal tasks for him, rifled through her desk, and had her followed by a private investigator.
The complaint states that Dr. Kennedy “would reprimand her, deny her vacation requests, assign her near-impossible tasks and bring up her dating life during irrelevant and inappropriate times.” He also made several threats to have her fired and deported.
The complaint further alleges that at one point, “Dr. Kennedy instructed Ms. Schafmeister to write herself a $12,000 check from the private practice’s business account to herself in consideration of her guaranteed bonus.” Dr. Kennedy then had Ms. Schafmeister arrested and charged with a felony based on his claims that she had stolen the money from him.
During this time, Schafmeister made a formal complaint about Dr. Kennedy to NYU Langone’s Human Resources department. Schafmeister complained that “Dr. Kennedy began subjecting her to egregious and frightening threats and harassment shortly after the dissolution of their relationship.” NYU Langone’s Human Resources department did not respond to her complaint.
