The former head of the Colorado Behavioral Health Administration has filed a federal complaint alleging her firing was due to racial discrimination, The Denver Post reported Sept. 21.
Morgan Medlock, MD, was first hired in January 2022 to lead the newly formed administration, joining from the Washington, D.C., Department of Behavioral Health. However, she was fired in April and replaced on an interim basis by Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Human Services Michelle Barnes.
Dr. Medlock has alleged in a complaint filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Aug. 30 that Ms. Barnes and additional senior leaders in Gov. Jared Polis' administration were "racially hostile" when she first began leading the administration.
If EEOC staff determine Dr. Medlock's complaint has met procedural requirements, the commission will have 180 days to investigate it. Complaints are not typically made public, unless the person who filed it makes it public, the report said.