The mother of a VA Loma Linda Healthcare System irrigation technician who died by suicide in 2022, purportedly after enduring more than three years of harassment and retaliation at work, has filed a federal lawsuit seeking more than $5 million in damages.
Sharon L. Sperry of Sedona, Arizona, alleges in the U.S. District Court suit that “countless complaints” from her son, Ryan Joseph Sperry, and other VA Loma Linda employees regarding grounds supervisor Martin Robles were ignored, exacerbating her son’s post-traumatic stress disorder and resulting in his death on Aug. 9, 2022.
Sharon Sperry is suing the federal government and Robles for harassment, failure to prevent harassment, California Labor Code violations and negligent hiring, supervision and retention of an employee.
“Ryan did not like what he saw and experienced through the continual hostility and harassment from his immediate supervisor toward employees of this department and was trying to go through the right channels to lodge his complaints,” Sharon Sperry said in a statement. “He became a victim of that hostility and harassment and it sickens us to this day.”
The lawsuit initially was filed last week and amended Thursday, May 23, to include Robles as a defendant.
Robles did not immediately return a phone call and emails seeking comment.
Terrence Hayes, a spokesperson for the VA, declined to discuss the lawsuit. “While VA cannot comment on ongoing litigation, we continue to mourn Ryan’s loss and send our condolences to his family,” Hayes said.
Complaints documented
Sperry, a former Marine, was 43 when he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Months before his death, he had written a five-page letter to the VA Loma Linda Human Resources Office recounting how working with Robles had sent him into a physical and emotional tailspin.
“I have begun to drink more than normal, and have been hospitalized with gout, which was due to increased drinking, which I have never had before,” he wrote.
Sperry complained Robles has a reputation for taking advantage of new, probationary employees, frequently requiring them to buy him coffee and doughnuts and chauffeur him around for free.
“He basically tells them they need to do whatever he asks them to do, no matter how wrong it might be, because he will get them fired or give them less hours if they don’t do so,” Sperry said. “He will intimidate, bully, threaten them.”
Sperry also said that over two months, the grounds crew documented that Robles was tardy more than 15 times, sometimes arriving at work two hours late without putting in for leave.
“He works whenever he wants, starts whenever he wants, leaves whenever he wants, and uses flex time as the excuse,” Sperry wrote.
Supervisor keeps job
Sharon Sperry alleges in the suit that Robles, who isn’t a veteran, harbors hatred toward subordinates who, like her son, served in the military.
“Robles would make offensive comments to veterans about their time serving in the military, such as telling decedent that he was a ‘stupid Marine’ and told decedent that he ‘should have died out there,’ referring to his time in the Marines,” the suit states. “Robles also told decedent that veterans are lazy and don’t deserve to work at the VA.”
The suit states Robles’ harassment of Sperry extended beyond the workplace.
In one incident, a neighbor’s ring camera captured video of Robles arriving at Sperry’s home, banging on the door, looking for a way to get in and, ultimately, breaking two windows, the suit states.
“This harassment and conduct played a large role in triggering decedent’s PTSD, making him feel unsafe and ultimately lead to his worsening emotional state which culminated in his suicide,” the suit states.
‘Dysfunctional culture’
A 2021 federal investigation recommended that Robles be fired for creating a hostile and racially charged work environment. However, instead of being terminated, he was inexplicably promoted and still works at the VA Loma Linda Healthcare System, which has more than 2,400 employees and 1,300 volunteers who serve more than 76,000 veterans.
“There were numerous instances where inappropriate language and racial slurs were used which appears to be a common practice,” a Veterans Administration investigative board said in a heavily redacted, confidential 61-page report obtained by the Southern California News Group. “Inappropriate and discriminatory hiring practices were found, which have contributed to the lack of trust, poor morale and fractured culture.”
The Administrative Investigation Board included 57 hours of testimony from 36 witnesses and 4,000 pages of exhibits.
Investigators also determined VA Loma Linda management ignored evidence of Robles’ misconduct and failed to hold him accountable.
“The board found there has been a long-standing mismanagement and acceptance of behaviors which have continued to perpetuate over time and which have built a culture within that could be described as dysfunctional, toxic and demoralizing,” the AIB report says.
Robles also was the focus of two other VA Loma Linda investigations in 2020 and 2022 that substantiated allegations that he fostered a hostile work environment. Details of those two investigations were not available.
“A day does not go by that we do not grieve the loss of our son, Ryan. It appears the pervasive culture of the VA is to ignore abusive behavior toward employees,” Sharon Sperry said in her statement. “Time after time, management takes confrontational actions toward subordinates and is rewarded by being transferred or promoted. This was the case of Ryan’s supervisor, who was promoted with a raise.”
The Southern California News Group obtained more than a dozen emails and complaints filed with the VA over five years, all detailing Robles’ troubling interactions with employees.
Meanwhile, Vanessa Jarvis, who is Sharon Sperry’s attorney, said her office has been inundated with calls from VA employees in California and other states who continue to “work in an unhealthy, toxic work environment.”
“It is clear there is a dysfunctional and hostile work environment at many VA locations,” Jarvis said. “The U.S. government needs to do better and protect its workers against harassment and racism and to protect those whistleblowers who come forward to report illegal activities.”
A pattern of problems
The issues involving Robles are among a string of controversies at VA Loma Linda that have received scrutiny from federal watchdogs and advocacy groups.
In 2022, government fact-finders found that VA Loma Linda mismanaged more than $1 million in patient transportation funding over a three-year period by colluding with ambulance companies through informal “handshake” agreements and unauthorized contracts, possibly for personal gain, according to a blistering confidential report obtained by the Southern California News Group.
Additionally, several patient advocacy organizations determined in 2023 that VA Loma Linda violated the civil liberties of some veterans seeking voluntary mental health evaluations by placing them on involuntary psychiatric holds as a precondition for their transportation to a hospital or treatment facility.
The House Committee on Veterans Affairs is investigating widespread complaints from VA Loma Linda whistleblowers regarding retaliation for reporting manager misconduct.
