MetroHealth System’s board of trustees’ decision to fire CEO Airica Steed early this month has drawn the attention of nationally known attorney Ben Crump. His legal work and activism around high-profile police shooting cases has earned him wide attention. 

In the past, he’s represented or joined the legal defense teams working for the families of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Tamir Rice, Breonna Taylor and Michael Brown. 

Crump is joining Steed’s legal team, which is led by Cleveland attorney F. Allen Boseman Jr. with the Sherman Boseman Legal Group. 

Shortly after Steed was fired on Aug. 9, Boseman said Steed was “stunned” by her termination and is considering suing MetroHealth’s board of trustees for “unlawfully” getting rid of her while she was on medical leave. 

Steed informed the board she was taking medical leave three weeks before she was fired but after the board had raised concerns about some aspects of her performance, public records show. Her firing has sparked racial tension inside and outside the hospital.

Steed, who holds a doctorate in educational leadership, was the first African-American woman to lead the public hospital. The board voted unanimously to dump her, citing its lack of confidence in her ability to lead the hospital in a troubled healthcare industry.  

Steed, whose salary, including bonus, was $1.2 million, was an at-will employee. That means the board could fire her at any time, with or without a cause. Steed’s contract also affords her a severance package typical of such positions. It guarantees that she will receive her base salary of $900,000 for one year and allows her to receive the salary for a second year under certain circumstances. The contract also leaves room for negotiations around the severance agreement, which typically involves a promise not to sue or disparage the employer. 

Prior to firing Steed, MetroHealth hired former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge on contract to handle legal work for the board, including issues around Steed’s employment. After leaving President Biden’s cabinet in March, Fudge  – a leading political voice in Northeast Ohio and a leader in the Black community – joined the Taft Stettinius & Hollister law firm, where she is a partner in its Cleveland office. 

“Our counsel is engaged in ongoing discussions, and we have nothing more to say at this time,” said Joe Frolik, a spokesman for MetroHealth.

Now also working with Steed’s legal team is Jeff Johnson, a Baltimore-based communications consultant, author and television producer with several ties to Cleveland. He was an advisor to former Mayor Frank Jackson and was the keynote at the recent Cleveland Chapter of the NAACP’s annual Freedom Fund Dinner.

Signal Statewide Bureau Chief/Editor-At-Large
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