EEOC Sues Vermont Nursing Home for Racial Harassment

A large long-term care facility located in Vermont violated federal law by allowing black nurses and nurse assistants to be subjected to ongoing and egregious racial harassment, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit. 

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, starting in 2020, certain white patients/residents of the nursing home repeatedly directed offensive racial slurs at the black nurses and nurse assistants. One patient repeatedly told black employees to “go back to Africa,” followed them throughout the facility so as to racially berate them, and physically assaulted them because of their race. 

The EEOC charged that despite the facility’s managers and supervisors witnessing some of these incidents, and despite numerous complaints about the race harassment lodged to management by the nurses and nurse assistants, the employees were told that residents could say what they wanted at the facility. In response to one complaint by a black nurse, a manager told her that she should be used to being the target of racial slurs because she “is from the South.” 

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of race. Race harassment is a form of race discrimination that is prohibited by the statute. 

The EEOC filed suit in the US District Court for the District of Vermont after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through the agency’s conciliation process. The EEOC seeks compensatory damages and punitive damages for the affected employees, and injunctive relief to remedy and prevent future workplace racial harassment. 

Issue: 

Racial harassment in the workplace is never acceptable, no matter who engages in the harassment. Federal law requires that an employer take prompt and effective remedial action to prevent race harassment of its employees in the workplace, including where the harassers are patients or customers. Employers cannot ignore egregious racial harassment simply because the harassers are long-term care facility residents. 

Discussion Points: 

• Review policies and procedures regarding prohibiting discrimination and harassment, whether from staff, residents, or visitors. Update as needed.  
• Train staff on what is considered harassment and their role in promptly reporting all types of harassment to a supervisor or the compliance and ethics officer. 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 to determine if staff (including supervisors) are being trained regarding the prohibition of any type of discrimination or harassment and to ensure that any complaints are addressed appropriately and in a timely manner.