A lawyer representing four women who have accused Denver Health Medical Center of racial discrimination says the hospital system needs court-ordered supervision.

"We did everything we could to avoid filing a lawsuit," said Anne Sulton, a lawyer in Olympia, Wash., who is representing the four women. "The people at Denver Health were so arrogant. It was like talking to a rock. They got sued because they think they are above the law and they are not."

Sulton filed suit on their behalf in U.S. District Court in Denver this week. She said all of the women are high-performing professionals who suffered injustices because superiors decided they didn't fit in with co-workers.

Dee Martinez, spokeswoman for Denver Health, said she could not comment on the case. "Denver Health is proud of the diversity represented throughout its work force. Denver Health cannot comment on matters of pending litigation," she said in a statement.

Sulton said that Denver Health has been the target of dozens of complaints alleging employment discrimination. Sulton alleged that bias continues.

The original plaintiff, Dr. Renee Atwell, is a black licensed clinical psychologist. Sulton said Atwell was a top performer who was stripped of her office after she took time off for surgeries. Atwell has a doctorate.

Sulton said that Denver Health managers gave her a white boss who had only a high school diploma. The last straw came when supervisors required Atwell to become certified in CPR despite a recent operation on her back and for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Sulton said.

Two other plaintiffs, Vivian Bradley and Terry Lee, are also black women who say they were subjected to racial bias. The other, Yvette Martinez Hochberg, is a physician who is Hispanic and Jewish. All the plaintiffs contend that they were not evaluated on their skills, but rather on subjective assessments of how well they fit in at Denver Health.

McCrimmonK@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2502