Arkansas Health System to Pay $52.5K to Settle Age Discrimination Lawsuit

An Arkansas healthcare provider charged with firing older workers with driving responsibilities because of their age will pay more than $52,000 to settle a federal age discrimination lawsuit.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said White River Health System Inc., headquartered in Batesville, Ark., will pay $52,500 to four former employees as part of the settlement.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit filed in February 2020, White River fired four employees because White River’s insurance policy excluded anyone over the age of 72 from driving. The employees, over the age of 72, had driven for several years without incident. The company made no attempt to secure alternative driver’s insurance that would cover the employees, the EEOC said.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) protects employees from discrimination based on age. The EEOC filed its lawsuit (Civil Action No. 3:20-cv-00049) in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Northern Division, after attempting to resolve the case through its conciliation process.

Under the two-year consent decree entered by Judge D. P. Marshall Jr., in addition to providing back pay to the affected employees:

• White River is enjoined from terminating, or failing to hire any employees with driving responsibilities because of the individual’s age
• White River will not discriminate based on age in the purchase of insurance for employees who have driving responsibilities
• Before renewing or purchasing any commercial automobile insurance policies, White River will contact a minimum of three insurance companies to ascertain whether it can obtain policies which do not exclude from coverage any drivers age 40 or older based on their age
• White River will review its existing equal employment opportunity policies to ensure the policies show a strong and clear commitment to preventing unlawful age discrimination and retaliation
• White River will conduct training for its senior center employees on the requirements of ADEA
• White River will provide to EEOC any complaints of age discrimination and White River’s responses to the complaints.

White River Health System operates senior centers in Mountain View, Brockwell, Salem, Mammoth Springs, Hardy, Cherokee Village, and Ash Flat, Ark.

Source: EEOC

Topics Lawsuits Arkansas Medical Professional Liability