Rogers Behavioral Health has been the subject of several lawsuits and legal disputes: a settled class action over website tracking pixels that transmitted patient data to third parties, an active labor dispute involving employee firings and federal unfair labor practice charges, a 2020 disability discrimination case brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and a 2005 Wisconsin Supreme Court decision on therapist-patient privilege. The Wisconsin-based nonprofit describes itself as one of the largest independent behavioral healthcare systems in the country, and its legal exposure has spanned patient privacy, employment law, and civil rights.
Pixel Tracking Class Action Settlement
In 2023, former patients Danielle Paul and Robert Guenther sued Rogers Behavioral Health System, Inc. in Dane County Circuit Court in Wisconsin. They alleged the company had installed third-party tracking tools, including the Meta Pixel, on its informational websites without adequate consent, sending browsing data about visitors seeking mental health treatment to companies such as Facebook and Google.1Angeion Group. Rogers Behavioral Health System Pixel Settlement Short Form Notice The complaint invoked state and federal privacy protections, including principles underlying HIPAA, and framed the conduct as an invasion of privacy under statutory, contract, and tort theories.2Angeion Group. Memorandum in Support of Plaintiffs’ Fee and Service Award Petition
The class covered roughly 59,513 people who visited Rogers’ websites between May 23, 2017 and May 2, 2024.2Angeion Group. Memorandum in Support of Plaintiffs’ Fee and Service Award Petition Rogers agreed to a $650,000 settlement fund without admitting liability. The court gave final approval on August 12, 2024, awarding attorneys’ fees of 35 percent of the fund and $3,500 service payments to each named plaintiff.3Angeion Group. Final Approval Order, Paul v. Rogers Behavioral Health System Based on an estimated 10,000 valid claims, individual payouts were projected at about $42.25.4Claim Depot. Rogers Behavioral Health System Pixel Settlement The claims deadline passed on September 2, 2024, and the case is now closed.
Union Firings and NLRB Complaints
The most active legal matter against Rogers is a labor dispute at its Wisconsin outpatient clinics. Workers at the West Allis and Madison facilities began organizing with the National Union of Healthcare Workers in 2025, citing staffing ratios, rising caseloads, and a shift from salaried to hourly compensation for some clinicians that they said hurt patient care.5Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Rogers Behavioral Health Fires 3 Providers After Unionization Effort6Behavioral Health Business. National Union Files Charges Against Rogers Behavioral Health
The February 2026 Firings
On February 9, 2026, five days after West Allis employees notified management of their intent to unionize, Rogers fired three medical providers from that clinic: two nurse practitioners and one psychiatrist. The terminations happened mid-workday, and at least two of the workers were told the action was taken “without cause.” Nurse practitioner Stephani Lohman publicly called the firings retaliatory and said she was given no reason and no chance to transition her patients.5Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Rogers Behavioral Health Fires 3 Providers After Unionization Effort
The NUHW filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board on February 10, 2026, docketed as case 18-CA-381135. The charge alleges coercive statements, coercive rules, retaliatory discharge, and retaliation for concerted activities.7National Labor Relations Board. Case 18-CA-381135 The union also alleged the company had hired outside anti-union consultants.6Behavioral Health Business. National Union Files Charges Against Rogers Behavioral Health
Elected Officials Weigh In
On February 25, 2026, twenty state and local leaders signed a letter to Rogers CEO Cynthia Meyer demanding reinstatement of the fired workers, union recognition, and a fair contract. Signatories included ten state representatives, seven Milwaukee County supervisors, and several Democratic gubernatorial candidates, among them former Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes. The Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association and the Milwaukee Area Labor Council added their support.8National Union of Healthcare Workers. Wisconsin Elected Leaders Call on Rogers Behavioral Health to Reinstate Fired Workers, Recognize Union
Union Elections and NLRB Rulings
Rogers tried to block the elections by arguing all 13 of its Wisconsin locations should be treated as a single bargaining unit. In an April 14, 2026 order, NLRB Regional Director Jennifer A. Hadsall rejected that argument and set elections at West Allis and Madison for April 22, 2026.9Wisconsin Examiner. Federal Labor Official Schedules Union Elections at West Allis, Madison Mental Health Clinics Hadsall also ruled the three workers fired in February were part of the bargaining unit and eligible to vote, rejecting Rogers’ claim that they were managerial employees.10National Union of Healthcare Workers. Labor Board Sides With Rogers Behavioral Health Workers, Schedules Union Elections
Workers voted for representation at both clinics: 53 to 4 at West Allis and 26 to 4 at Madison.11National Labor Relations Board. Case 18-RC-38043112National Labor Relations Board. Case 18-RC-380683 The Madison election was certified and closed in June 2026. The West Allis case remains open, with Rogers filing objections and seeking permission to appeal. The company has said it will not begin bargaining until all appeals are exhausted.13News From the States. Workers at Two Mental Health Clinics Elect Union in Large Majorities
May 2026 Firings and a Second NLRB Charge
In the first week of May 2026, Rogers fired three more union supporters at the West Allis clinic. Two mental health clinicians, including therapist Kate Zolandz, were terminated for allegedly wearing costumes during a lunch break on election day. A front desk worker was fired for allegedly failing to prevent the three previously terminated employees from entering the facility to cast their ballots.14National Union of Healthcare Workers. Rogers Behavioral Health Fires Three More Union Supporters at Suburban Milwaukee Facility
Zolandz had been suspended on election day, April 22, over a cape she wore for roughly 30 minutes at lunch. She said Rogers had changed her job duties after she spoke at a Women’s Day event about the union drive and had threatened discipline for her participation in a media panel. “Rogers is desperate because workers are standing up for each other and demanding better care for patients,” she said after her firing.14National Union of Healthcare Workers. Rogers Behavioral Health Fires Three More Union Supporters at Suburban Milwaukee Facility
The NUHW filed a second unfair labor practice charge on June 1, 2026, docketed as case 18-CA-388587 and assigned to NLRB Region 18 in Minneapolis. That case is open.15National Labor Relations Board. Case 18-CA-388587 In all, six union supporters have been fired from the West Allis clinic since organizing began.
What Rogers Has Said
A company spokesperson said Rogers “believe[s] we have acted in compliance with applicable law” and is “working closely with the National Labor Relations Board on the next steps,” declining to discuss individual personnel decisions.6Behavioral Health Business. National Union Files Charges Against Rogers Behavioral Health Rogers already has collective bargaining relationships with unionized staff at its California and Pennsylvania locations.5Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Rogers Behavioral Health Fires 3 Providers After Unionization Effort
EEOC Disability Discrimination Case
In June 2019, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Rogers Behavioral Health in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, alleging disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. According to the EEOC, Rogers rescinded a job offer for an intake specialist position after the applicant’s pre-employment drug screen tested positive for alprazolam, a prescription anti-anxiety medication. The agency said Rogers did not allow the applicant to provide documentation of a valid prescription and effectively treated the applicant as disabled because of the test result.16EEOC. EEOC Sues Rogers Behavioral Health for Disability Discrimination
The case was resolved in April 2020 through a voluntary conciliation agreement. Rogers agreed to a monetary settlement and to expand internal compliance procedures, including ADA training for key decision-makers.17Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Oconomowoc’s Rogers Memorial Hospital Settles Discrimination Lawsuit
Johnson v. Rogers Memorial Hospital (2005)
Rogers was also at the center of a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision in 2005. In Johnson v. Rogers Memorial Hospital, the parents of a former patient sued their daughter’s therapists, alleging the therapists had negligently implanted and reinforced false memories of childhood abuse. The dispute turned on whether the therapist-patient privilege could yield when a third party claimed the therapy itself had caused harm.18vLex. Johnson v. Rogers Memorial Hospital, 283 Wis. 2d 384
On July 8, 2005, the court recognized a limited exception to the privilege in such cases. Under the test the court set out, a plaintiff must first show a “reasonable likelihood” that negligent therapy occurred, after which the trial court conducts a private review of patient records and releases only what is directly relevant to the negligence claim. The ruling opened a narrow path for third parties alleging harm from careless therapy while preserving the confidentiality of the underlying treatment relationship.19Wisconsin Law Journal. Johnson v. Rogers Memorial Hospital, Inc., et al.