A 43-year-old licensed practical nurse at the Blair County Prison has filed a federal lawsuit claiming she was forced from her position due to age discrimination and for reporting wrongdoing to her supervisors.

The lawsuit has been filed by Philadelphia attorney David M. Koller on behalf of Chrissy Friday of Tyrone.

It names as defendants the Blair County Prison and the Prison’s health care provider, PrimeCare Medical of Harrisburg.

But the focus of the lawsuit is the short period of time that Friday was employed by PrimeCare.

Friday was hired by PrimeCare on Nov. 11, 2022, and, as she explained, was the oldest of nine employees in the nursing department that provides medical care to the more than 300 inmates who are housed there.

From the beginning of her tenure with the prison, Friday said her 23-year-old trainer “nitpicked and micromanaged” her work, for instance, complaining that she was not passing out medications fast enough and commenting that she was in an environment of “sink or swim” and that she “wasn’t cut out for the work.”

Also, according to the federal complaint, she observed her younger counterparts engaging in illegal activities.

She observed a nurse, who was not licensed to prescribe medication, give a Z-pak (antibiotic) to a corrections officer.

She noted also that several nurses “pocketed prescription medications from the (prison) to take home with them.”

The Friday lawsuit also stated, “Younger employees in the department also brought contraband into the jail without permission.”

Friday “outwardly expressed disapproval of these illegal activities,” according to her legal complaint.

In January, Friday indicates she reported the alleged illegal activities and her feeling that she was being discriminated against due to her age, to three management-level employees — an administrator, an assistant director of nursing and a regional manager.

The pressure of her concerns also brought on a great deal of stress on her, her complaint stated.

On Jan. 10, she became a full-time employee at the prison, at which point, she states, “Defendant’s (PrimeCare) treatment of plaintiff significantly worsened.”

Her supervisor’s “retaliatory treatment” got so severe that (she) was forced to leave work early on Jan. 13.

On Jan. 16, after being screamed and cursed at by a corrections officer, she submitted her resignation, Friday reports in her legal complaint.

The lawsuit, filed in the federal District Court in Johnstown, is alleging violations of the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act.

She also charges illegal retaliation under Pennsylvania’s Whistleblower Law.

Friday contends she had a duty to report what she felt were illegal activities that were occurring.

In her lawsuit, she recites the American Nurses Association code of ethics that states, “When nurses are placed in circumstances that exceed moral limits or that violate moral standards in any nursing practice setting, they must express to the appropriate authority their conscientious objection to participating in these situations.”

PrimeCare’s legal department was contacted about the lawsuit, but stated the company did not comment on lawsuits.

Blair County Controller A.C. Stickel, the president of the county prison board, said he was not aware of the lawsuit.

The lawsuit is asking compensatory and punitive damages, compensation for emotional pain and suffering, as well as attorney expenses.