A former UI Health resident alleges bias complaints were followed by retaliation and lost career opportunities
A former UI Health psychiatry resident alleges discrimination and retaliation in a federal complaint filed in Illinois.
Dr. Sofia Sami filed the complaint on June 21, 2026, in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The filing names UI Health and other defendants, and alleges discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, sex, and association with Palestinians, as well as retaliation and violations of the Illinois Whistleblower Act.
Sami is described in the complaint as a Pakistani Muslim woman who is South Asian and wore hijab during the relevant period. The complaint states that UI Health employed her as a medical resident in its psychiatry residency program from June 2020 to July 2024.
According to the complaint, Sami received strong evaluations during her first three years in the program and was accepted into several fellowships, including national fellowships described in the filing as prestigious and limited to a select pool of trainees.
The complaint alleges that after Sami was elected Chief Resident in or around March 2023, she was assigned more administrative work than non-Muslim and non-Pakistani co-chief residents. The filing says those alleged duties included booking rooms, handling department-related administrative requests, creating quality improvement measures, developing teaching workflows, and fielding...
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