Paramount Healthcare Consultants, LLC, which operates nursing care facilities across Texas and Louisiana, will pay $50,000 to settle a sex discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced.
The EEOC’s suit was filed against both Paramount and MPD Operators Nazareth Hall, LLC, who jointly managed the Nazareth Living Care Center in El Paso, Texas. According to the lawsuit, the administrator at the El Paso facility sexually harassed a female housekeeping aide by subjecting her to repeated, unwelcome sexual comments and forcible kissing.
The housekeeping aide reported the unwelcome touching to her male supervisor, who then elevated the sexual harassment complaint to human resources at the facility. However, in response to his complaint, management was dismissive and took no action.
According to the lawsuit, the defendant failed to conduct a credible investigation of the complaint and the facility administrator was never disciplined. Further, the administrator and human resources managers retaliated against both employees after the harassment. Ultimately, both employees were forced to quit, the EEOC said.
Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on sex, and retaliation for complaining about it. The EEOC filed suit, Civil Action No. 3:23-cv-00359 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, El Paso Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
Under the three-year consent decree settling the suit, in addition to monetary relief for the victims, Paramount will revise its anti-harassment policy to provide an improved complaint and response procedure in its Texas facilities.
Paramount will also provide training to educate Texas-based human resources staff and facility administrators about sexual harassment and the rights and responsibilities of employees and management alike. To ensure that all employees regardless of their English-language proficiency understand their rights, Paramount must also post and distribute a notice in both English and Spanish to all Texas-based employees.
Source: EEOC
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