MedicOne, an operator of three ambulance services in Tennessee with facilities in Mississippi and Illinois and headquartered in Farmers Branch, Texas, will pay $450,000 and provide other relief to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit filed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). According to the EEOC, MedicOne violated federal law when it allowed supervisors and members of upper management to sexually harass several female paramedics and retaliated against a female paramedic by firing her for complaining about the sexually-hostile work environment. Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bans sex discrimination in the workplace and prohibits retaliation against employees who oppose sexual harassment. The EEOC filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Nashville Division, (Civil Action No. 3:20-cv-00912), on October 22, 2020, after trying to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its voluntary pre-litigation conciliation process. In addition to the monetary relief, a four-year consent decree requires that MedicOne revise its sexual harassment policy, distribute it to all employees, conduct annual training on sexual harassment in the workplace, and establish a toll-free number that employees can use to safely report workplace discrimination.
