A hospital in Seattle, Washington, has agreed to pay $125,000 in compensatory damages and back pay to a former employee and provide other injunctive relief following an investigation by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced on March 12, 2024.
The EEOC’s investigation found evidence supporting a nurse’s allegations that she had been subjected to sexual harassment, including unwelcome sexual comments, and a sexually charged atmosphere at work over a three-month period. The investigation also revealed that despite the nurse notifying her employer about the harassment, the hospital did not take action, resulting in the harassment continuing and ultimately leading to her resignation. Such alleged conduct is a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination, including harassment and sexual harassment, on the basis of sex.
Following the investigation, the parties engaged in the pre-litigation conciliation process which resulted in a settlement that required the hospital to pay monetary damages, revise its non-discrimination policies, conduct employee training, and provide additional training to managers and staff involved in the investigation of employee complaints of discrimination and harassment.
“Employers must protect workers from harassment and discrimination, even and especially when the persons doing the harassment are customers, patients, contractors, or other third parties,” said Elizabeth M. Cannon, director of the EEOC’s Seattle Field Office. “Having an effective complaint process and managers that are well trained on how to recognize and respond to complaints helps employers stay in compliance with the law, and more importantly, helps protect employees from harassment and discrimination.”
Compliance Perspective
Issue
It is unlawful to harass a person (an applicant or employee) because of that person’s sex. Harassment can include sexual harassment or unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature. Although the law doesn’t prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that are not very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted). The harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer.
Discussion Points
- Review your policies and procedures on preventing harassment, including sexual harassment.
- Train staff on what is considered harassment and their role in promptly reporting all types of harassment to a supervisor or the compliance and ethics officer. Train supervisors and the compliance and ethics officer on their role when harassment has been reported to them by an employee. Stress the importance of nonretaliation. Document that these trainings occurred and file the signed documents in each employee’s education file.
- Periodically audit by anonymously polling staff to determine if they are being harassed or experiencing discrimination and ask if they feel free to report such instances without fear of retaliation or retribution.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, LLC for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*
