Pediatric Health Care Alliance, a Tampa-based pediatric medical practice, violated federal law when it retaliated against a female registered nurse for reporting that a doctor, who was also a company vice president, inappropriately touched her, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit. The employer transferred her to another location where her work conditions were intolerable so that she was forced to resign, the EEOC said. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the male doctor inappropriately touched the nurse twice. The employee reported the incidents to her supervisor, who agreed the behavior was inappropriate, and directed her to go to human resources. In retaliation for reporting these incidents, Pediatric Health Care Alliance transferred the employee to a different location, where many of her job duties as a nurse were taken away and her pay was reduced. The nurse was forced to resign as a consequence of this retaliation, the EEOC said. Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers from retaliating against workers who object to such discrimination.
