Kaiser to pay Black employee in EEOC suit

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Tuesday that the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington will pay $140,000 to a Black employee in its Tacoma, Washington, medical center to resolve its racial harassment lawsuit.

The agency said the woman employee was subjected to a co-worker’s repeated use of a racial epithet, and that Kaiser’s human resources department did not adequately investigate her complaints, nor take adequate remedial measures.

Kaiser was charged with violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Under a three-year consent decree settling the suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle, Kaiser will pay $140,000 to the employee and retain a consultant to review its equal employment opportunity policies and procedures, among other measures.

Kaiser said in a statement, “We are on a journey to strengthen our policies and eliminate bias, discrimination and racism in our workplaces and care settings.

“Through this settlement, we will be implementing additional training and processes to expedite investigations when claims of discrimination are raised.”