By SHAYLA ESCUDERO/Lincoln Chronicle
A partner in a prominent Newport-based addiction treatment center is leveling accusations of disability discrimination and retaliation and seeking $879,000 from the other three founders of the company.
Phoenix Wellness Center opened in 2020 when four members of the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians – Ashleigh Ramirez, Wylie Stokes, Zebuli Payne and Danielle Payne – had a shared goal to form a culturally competent and trauma informed addiction treatment center. Since then, members of the company have sat on Lincoln County’s deflection program workgroup and earned acclaim for their rewards-based approach to addiction treatment.
But a June 12 complaint filed in Lincoln County Circuit Court, usually a precursor to a lawsuit, shows an internal strife as Danielle Payne, one of the company’s four owners, alleges disability discrimination and retaliation against the other three company owners.
In addition to each owning a quarter of the company, founders also had employee roles – Ramirez as clinical supervisor, Zebuli Payne as clinical director, Wylie Stokes as outreach director and Danielle Payne as program administrator.
The business grew exponentially since its start, according to the complaint, with 2024 gross profits exceeding $2.9 million with a projected additional $1 million in 2025.
“Meanwhile, the work relationship between Plaintiff and Defendant (Zebuli) Payne grew increasingly strained due to two problems: Defendant Payne ceased communicating with Plaintiff and Defendant Payne had a habit of remarking about his sex life and others; and making appalling statements about Phoenix Wellness Center’s employees …,” the complaint alleges.
In March, Danielle Payne complained the workplace had become toxic because of Zebuli Payne’s conduct and requested mediation.
During the meeting, Ramirez and Stokes made remarks about Danielle Payne’s mental health while working remotely and asked if she needed help with her drinking, according to the complaint. Although she had disclosed her anxiety diagnosis in the past, this was the first time she was perceived as having an impairment or disability related to alcohol or mental health, according to the complaint.
The next day, during a meeting with the other three owners, she was given a letter with concerns of her ability to fulfill her duties due to “life choices” and substance use. She was placed on unpaid leave and given steps to return to work which involved submitting a drug test.
Three weeks later, on April 15, she was terminated.
Danielle Payne alleged she had never been intoxicated while performing her job duties or been accused of doing so. Additionally, there is no company handbook or policy that requires employees of an addiction provider be non-drinkers.
“Defendants’ purported reasons for Plaintiff’s termination are pure pretext for the actual motives: to remove an outspoken critic of Defendant (Zebuli) Payne and Company’s workplace environment. And in the process, Defendants drew a straight line from Plaintiff’s actual or perceived disability, to her termination. “
Payne is seeking $879,000 from the company and its partners, who did not respond to requests for comment. She is now the chief operating officer for New Life Wellness Center, which specializes in addiction treatment and medicine.
- Shayla Escudero covers Lincoln County government, education, Newport, housing and social services for Lincoln Chronicle and can be reached at Shayla@LincolnChronicle.org
