An HR staffer told her two black women can't discriminate against each other, she says
A Black former Citizens Bank vice president says an HR investigator told her race discrimination could not have happened because her manager was also Black.
Sharana Worsley filed suit against Citizens Bank, N.A. on May 11, 2026 in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Her claims fall under Title VII, Section 1981, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, and the Philadelphia Fair Practices Ordinance.
Worsley joined the bank in March 2020 as Vice President, Community Development Market Manager and Community Reinvestment Act Officer. The complaint describes a strong track record: a 2022 Citizens Credo Champion award, a 2023 WIN Women of Excellence recognition, and Chairman's Award nominations in 2022 and 2023. Her 2022 mid-year review noted she "has embraced her role as a Community Development Market Manager and continues to grow and thrive in the role," according to the filing.
The complaint says things changed in July 2022 when Worsley started reporting to a new manager, Ndeda Letson. Worsley alleges Letson, who is also Black, treated the two non-white reports on a four-person team worse than the two white reports. Worsley says she flagged it to her previous supervisor in August 2022 and was told the supervisor was "trying to give the situation 'some time.'" Soon after, a promised spot in an EZRA development program was pulled and given to the new manager instead, the filing states.
Worsley then took the issue higher. She says she met with Citizens Bank's Chief Human Resources Officer in June 2023 to raise race discrimination and the high turnover of people of color on the team. After filing a formal grievance the following month, an Employee Relations staffer was assigned to investigate, according to the complaint.
The investigator's conclusion sits at the center of the filing. Worsley alleges the investigator told her "that because Letson and Plaintiff were the same race - Black - she had concluded that discrimination could not have happened." Worsley says she pushed back, explaining that people of the same race can discriminate against and retaliate against one another. The complaint says the new manager was told to retract a negative review of Worsley but, to Worsley's knowledge, faced no other consequences.
A second HR investigation followed after Worsley's year-end 2023 rating was lowered to a 3 (Effective). The complaint alleges she was eventually told the rating was tied to her refusal to delete information from an internal tracker, something Worsley says she pushed back on as "how banks get in trouble." The bank did not back down from the demand, according to the filing.
On April 24, 2024, a Human Resources representative told Worsley she was being placed on administrative leave with the intention to terminate her, the complaint states. The filing says the only reason given was that she did not have a good relationship with the new manager and a Retail Director on the team. Worsley alleges she was the only employee on the team over 100% of goal at the time, at 100.8% in her primary market area. Her termination took effect May 17, 2024. The complaint alleges her duties were reassigned to non-Black employees.
For HR leaders, the case raises questions about internal investigation methodology. The complaint argues that concluding discrimination could not have happened because the parties share a race is itself a problem. The filing also lays out the timeline Worsley says followed her complaints: a negative performance review, word that colleagues were told not to communicate with her, a lowered rating, administrative leave, and termination.
The allegations have not been tested in court. Citizens Bank has not yet filed a response, and no court has ruled on the merits.
