Healthcare Compliance Perspective:
Healthcare providers must be committed to equal opportunity and non-discriminatory policies and procedures in all aspects of employment, including hiring and promotions. Once these equal opportunity policies are procedures are established, it is the responsibility of management to ensure the paper compliance transfers over into daily operations and facility culture.
A foundation operating a network of medical and care facilities is accused of violating federal law when it failed to promote a worker because of her race and age, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it announced recently.
According to the suit, the foundation hired a 53-year-old African-American woman as a geriatric nursing assistant (GNA) at a nursing and rehabilitation center in February 2013. This employee, more than a year later, applied for a restorative aide vacancy, which paid $4 more per hour. A GNA is responsible for providing direct routine patient care, while a restorative aide focuses on helping patients gain an improved quality of life by increasing their level of strength and mobility of daily living. The woman had more than 20 years of GNA experience, held a certification in restorative nursing and had prior restorative aide experience.
The EEOC charged that despite the superior qualifications of the African-American geriatric nursing assistant, the foundation selected a white employee, who was 30 years younger, had only worked for the foundation for three months, had only about three years of GNA experience, and lacked a restorative aide certification or any significant restorative aide experience.
The EEOC said that the foundation did not follow its internal position posting and transfer policy requiring employees to be employed for 12 months before being transferred to a new position, unless an exception is granted “based on business needs.” The foundation is also accused of failing to comply with its internal interviewing and document retention policies. The EEOC claims that the foundation failed to preserve various personnel and employment records as required by federal law and Commission regulations, according to the suit.
After first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process, the EEOC is seeking back pay and compensatory and punitive damages, as well as injunctive relief prohibiting the company from engaging in any employment practices that discriminate based on race or age.
