Arkansas Nursing Home Settles EEOC Sexual Harassment Suit for $100,000
After receiving complaints from numerous employees that the management of the nursing home was ignoring complaints about sexual harassment, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued the owner of an Arkansas Nursing home last year. Although the company owning the nursing home continues to deny any wrongdoing, the suit was recently settled in a U.S. District Court when the owners agreed to pay $100,000 to several former employees and to provide sexual harassment and retaliation prevention training for its employees. It will also create policies and procedures to address sexual harassment and outline an explicit process to follow for filing a complaint.
Previously, instead of taking steps to address the persons committing the sexual harassment, the management retaliated against the employees making the complaints. This caused employees to not complain about the sexual harassment out of fear for losing their jobs.
The EEOC issued guidelines [See: https://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/currentissues.html ] in 1980 that declared sexual harassment a violation of Section 703 of Title VII, establishing criteria for determining when unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment, defining the circumstances under which an employer may be held liable, and suggesting affirmative steps an employer should take to prevent sexual harassment. [See Section 1604.11 of the Guidelines on Discrimination Because of Sex, 29 C.F.R. § 1604.11 (“Guidelines”)]. The Commission has applied the Guidelines in its enforcement litigation, and many lower courts have relied on the Guidelines.
The issue of whether sexual harassment violates Title VII reached the Supreme Court in 1986 in Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, 106 S. Ct. 2399, 40 EPD ¶ 36,159 (1986). The Court affirmed the basic premises of the Guidelines as well as the Commission’s definition. The purpose of this document is to provide guidance on the following issues in light of the developing law after Vinson:
- Determining whether sexual conduct is “unwelcome”;
- Evaluating evidence of harassment;
- Determining whether a work environment is sexually “hostile”;
- Holding employers liable for sexual harassment by supervisors; and
- Evaluating preventive and remedial action taken in response to claims of sexual harassment.
Human Resource Compliance Perspective
Failing to investigate complaints by employees regarding sexual harassment and, instead of investigating and dealing with the offending employee, retaliating against the employee making the report by firing them may be considered a violation of Section 703 of Title VII, resulting in a suit brought against the nursing home by the U.S. EEOC.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures to ensure that they address sexual harassment and provide specific guidelines for how to file a complaint and prohibit retaliation against an employee for filing a complaint.
- Train managerial and all other staff regarding the policies and procedures that prohibit sexual harassment, and ensure employees have a clear understanding of all aspects included in the definition of sexual harassment.
- Periodically audit through a staff interview process to determine if any feel they are being sexually harassed and fear retribution should they file a complaint.
