Editor's note: This article has been revised to include information, provided after publication, concerning similar legal actions filed by two suburan law firms.
A suburban dental office is being sued by ex-employees who claim they were secretly recorded using a bathroom at the clinic.
On Dec. 10, lawyers from the Clifford Law Offices, of Chicago, and two suburban law firms, Kelleher + Holland and Dudley & Lake, said they would file suit in Cook County Circuit Court against Aspen Dental Clinic, of Crestwood. Clifford Law said it was representing 11 current and former Aspen Dental Clinic employees, while the Kelleher firm was representing two others, and Dudley & Lake, one.
Robert Clifford
| Clifford Law Offices, Chicago
According to copies of unsigned complaints posted Wednesday to Clifford Law’s website, the plaintiffs assert employees discovered cameras hidden in a unisex bathroom in late October. The complaints assert the two cameras had been planted in the bathroom about a month earlier, and had recorded employees using the bathroom for at least three weeks.
Plaintiffs accusing the clinic in the cases include dentists, dental hygienists, dental assistants and a marketing staff member for the clinic.
The complaints assert the cameras had been placed in the bathroom by a dental hygienist employed at the clinic, who has since been criminally charged. According to the complaint, the employee who allegedly installed the hidden cameras had a criminal record prior to being hired at the clinic. However, the complaint accuses the clinic of failing to conduct a proper background check on the hygienist before hiring him in August.
The complaints identify the hygienist accused of planting the cameras as Armani Alexander. The complaints say Alexander was arrested by Crestwood Police on Oct. 22 and charged with multiple misdemeanor counts in connection with the alleged illicit recordings.
The complaints, filed on behalf of each plaintiff individually, accuse the clinic of negligence in hiring, supervising and retaining Alexander in his position. The complaints further include counts against the clinic of intrusion upon seclusion, because the clinic allegedly “breached their duty to ensure the privacy rights of their employees.”
Attorney Donald Morrison, of Kelleher + Holland, of North Barrington, said he also intended to file suit in coming days against HireRight, the company Aspen Dental allegedly used to conduct the background checks for clinic employees.
The complaints ask for unspecified damages of more than $50,000, each.