A jury has awarded $105,000 in a sex discrimination case alleging a male surgical technician at an Arkansas hospital was blocked from performing job duties and ultimately forced to resign because of his sex.
According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and court records accessed by Becker’s, Efrin Chavez was hired as a surgical technician in the labor and delivery unit at Northwest Medical Center in Bentonville, Ark., in January 2022. Within days, two obstetricians refused to allow Mr. Chavez to assist with deliveries or perform other assigned duties because he is male, according to the records. The EEOC presented evidence that complaints were escalated as high as the CEO, but the hospital failed to follow its own anti-discrimination policies. A former company director testified at trial that Mr. Chavez was a victim of the hospital’s culture of discrimination. Mr. Chavez was ultimately forced to resign, the EEOC said.
On July 24, after a five-day trial, the jury awarded $5,000 in compensatory damages and $100,000 in punitive damages. The EEOC plans to petition the court for injunctive relief, including mandatory anti-discrimination training.
The hospital, which was owned by Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems at the time of the alleged discrimination, was acquired by Freeman Health System along with three other CHS hospitals for $110 million in 2024. The EEOC first filed suit in 2024.
A CHS spokesperson told Becker’s the hospital will appeal.
Becker’s has also reached out to Freeman Health System for comment and will update this story if more information becomes available.
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