The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Tuesday that Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington will pay $140,000 to a black employee at its medical center in Tacoma, Wash., to settle his racial harassment lawsuit.
The agency said the female employee was subjected to a colleague’s repeated use of a racial epithet and that Kaiser’s human resources department did not adequately investigate her complaint, nor take appropriate remedial action.
Kaiser was accused of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Under a three-year consent decree settling the lawsuit, which was filed in US District Court in Seattle, Kaiser will pay the employee $140,000 and hire a consultant to review its equal 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 healthcare.
“Through this settlement, we will implement additional training and processes to expedite investigations when allegations of discrimination are raised.”
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