The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued Montrose (Colo.) Memorial Hospital, doing business as Montrose Regional Health, for alleged age discrimination and retaliation.
The EEOC filed the lawsuit Sept. 30, nearly a decade after it had previously sued the healthcare facility. The commission and the hospital settled that lawsuit via a three-year consent decree and $400,000 in legal expenses and employee compensation in January 2018.
In the new lawsuit, the EEOC claims Montrose violated federal law by harassing and discriminating against older nurses in the same-day surgery/post-anesthesia care unit — and retaliating against them when they complained, according to an EEOC news release.
The EEOC specifically alleges that two managers, including the chief nursing officer, harassed older nurses. The CNO told them at staff meetings she wanted “younger nurses [to] take over,” preferred “more youthful and energetic” staff, and said older workers were “lazy” or unwilling to “work hard,” according to the agency.
The EEOC also alleges older nurses faced heightened scrutiny and supervision and were retaliated against after complaining about discrimination.
“Age discrimination continues to be a persistent problem in the workplace, and especially in the nursing industry,” Mary Jo O’Neill, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Phoenix district, said in the release. “Older nurses come with significant expertise and are an essential part of any medical center’s workforce, and the EEOC is committed to fighting for the rights of all workers, including vulnerable older workers.”
In response, the hospital strenuously denied the allegations in the lawsuit. It noted that the legal action is based on the resignation of an employee in 2021, and it includes several claimants who either left voluntarily or were terminated for cause over the last five years.
“Few details have been released by the EEOC at this time, and MRH plans to formally request additional information regarding the nature of the claims,” the hospital said in a statement shared with Becker’s. “While MRH takes this type of claim very seriously, the organization is both disappointed and concerned that the EEOC has chosen to pursue litigation given MRH’s longstanding commitment to providing a respectful and nurturing workplace.”
