Jacobson Memorial Hospital Care Center, a critical access hospital in Elgin, North Dakota, will pay $45,000 and provide other relief to settle a US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) retaliation lawsuit, the federal agency announced. According to the lawsuit, the hospital violated federal law when it fired a Black nursing aide in retaliation six days after she reported that a co-worker called her the “n-word” in May 2019. Such alleged conduct violates the anti-retaliation provision of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits firing an employee because they engage in protected activity by complaining about discrimination. Under the three year consent decree resolving the lawsuit, Jacobson will pay $45,000 in monetary damages to the nursing aide; adopt and distribute anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation policies; post a notice in the workplace informing employees of the settlement; provide specialized training to all employees on the federal laws that prohibit employment discrimination, including Title VII and retaliation; and report to and allow the EEOC to monitor complaints of racial discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.
