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 on April 15, 2024.
According to the lawsuit, the hospital violated federal law when it fired a nurse aide in retaliation six days after she reported that a co-worker called her a racial slur 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, the hospital will pay $45,000 in monetary damages to the nurse 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.
Amrith Kaur Aakre, director of the Chicago District Office, said, “Employees who report harassment should experience support, not retaliation. The EEOC remains dedicated to protecting the rights of employees to speak up without fear of losing their jobs.”
Compliance Perspective
Issue
The Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws prohibit punishing job applicants or employees for asserting their rights to be free from employment discrimination including harassment. Asserting these EEO rights is called “protected activity,” and it can take many forms. For example, it is unlawful to retaliate against applicants or employees for communicating with a supervisor or manager about employment discrimination, including harassment. A complaint of harassment must be investigated promptly and impartially. Participating in a complaint process is protected from retaliation under all circumstances.
Discussion Points
- Review policies and procedures for prevention of any type of discrimination and harassment. Also review policies and procedures on nonretaliation. Update your policies as needed.
- Train staff on what is considered harassment and their role in promptly reporting all types of harassment to a supervisor, the compliance and ethics officer, or through the facility’s hotline. 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.*
