A lawsuit started after a request by a father that did not want any African-American nurses to take care of his newborn child at a Michigan hospital.

Legal action began in January by nurse Tonya Battle against the Hurley Medical Center that allegedly agreed to the father's racist demands.

Battle claims that she was barred from her duties as a nurse to treat the infant child and stated that a note was attached to the patient's file stating "No African American nurse to take care of baby," according to WNEM.

The nurse was then reassigned by her manager to another infant and no African-American nurses were allowed to tend to the child while it was in the hospital for over one month. The Hurley Medical Center was also allegedly told the request was illegal, but they continued to oblige to the father's decision, according to UPI.

The incident caused Battle to file a formal complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the agency tasked with enforcing federal employer discrimination laws.

The legal documents in the case state that Battle was "was shocked, offended and in disbelief that she was so egregiously discriminated against based on her race and re-assigned."

The nurse is seeking compensatory damages for violations of her 14th Amendment rights, which caused emotional stress and harm to her reputation through the lawsuit.

Battle told the Lansing State Journal that she froze when she heard the news of the father's request and that the hospital had agreed: "I just was really dumbfounded. I couldn't believe that's why he was so angry and that's why he was requesting my charge nurse. I think my mouth hit the floor. It was really disbelief."

She continued: "What flashed in my mind is, 'What's next? A note on the water found that says 'No blacks? Or a note on the bathroom that says 'No blacks?'"