Arkansas Insurer to Settle Retaliation Discrimination Suit for $90K

A life insurance company based in Little Rock, Arkansas, will pay $90,000 to settle a retaliation discrimination lawsuit, federal officials say.

According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), USAble Life (USAL), which also has a presence in Florida, fired an employee after she complained of discrimination.

The EEOC’s lawsuit alleges USAL first received notice around March 26, 2018, of the complaints of an employee in its Little Rock office to a third party that the company was discriminating against her based on her pregnancy, a form of sex discrimination, and disability for her anxiety and post-partem depression.

On April 11, 2018, USAL fired her as retaliation for her complaints, the EEOC said.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protect employees who engage in protected activity, such as complaining about discrimination, from retaliation. The case was set for trial before U.S. District Court Judge Brian S. Miller on June 1 in Little Rock.

In addition to the monetary amount, the settlement provides that USAL will take the following steps at its Little Rock location:

• Amend and enforce its written policies prohibiting discrimination;
• Electronically disseminate a copy of its anti-discrimination and harassment policy to all employees;
• Provide training to its human resources, management and supervisory employees within 90 days;
• Prior to the training, USAL’s highest chief executive officer will appear in person or by recorded video and state that USAL does not retaliate against employees who complain about discrimination and the consequences for engaging in such conduct; and
• Provide complaints of retaliation and USAL responses to the complaints to the EEOC.

USAL was founded in 2005 by two Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) organizations. USAL serves BCBS plans across the country, and its business focus is providing specialty insurance programs to BCBS’s health insurance programs. The specialty insurance programs include disability, accident, hospital, cancer, critical illness and life coverage.

Topics Lawsuits Carriers Arkansas