Orange Treeidence OPCO, LLC, doing business as Riverwalk Post-Acute, Providence Group, Inc. (PGI), and Providence Administrative Consulting Services, Inc. (PACS), have agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleging racial harassment and retaliation. The settlement includes the payment of $865,000 to class members and other relief. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, since at least 2018, Riverwalk Post-Acute, a skilled nursing facility in Riverside, California, allowed a class of Black employees to be subjected to racial harassment by residents, co-workers and a supervisor. The harassment included repeated, frequent and offensive race-based remarks and slurs directed at staff. According to the lawsuit, the three defendants operated the facility and failed to adequately respond to multiple complaints of harassment. Instead, employees were told to tolerate the abusive remarks.
