Ephraim McDowell Health to Pay $335,000 in EEOC Sex Discrimination and Retaliation Lawsuit

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Ephraim McDowell Health, Inc., Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center, Inc., and EMHFL, Inc., a health care system headquartered in Danville, Kentucky, will pay $335,000 and provide other relief to settle a sex discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

According to the suit, around October 2021, Ephraim McDowell rejected a female employee’s bid for promotion to an administrator position when the system’s CEO told her men work better with men and it was best to have a male in the position. The CEO instead appointed a male to the administrator position and the female to a lower-paying position reporting to the newly promoted male. The EEOC further charged that, after the female employee filed a discrimination charge with the EEOC, Ephraim McDowell retaliated against her by firing her in December 2022.

“We appreciate Ephraim McDowell for working with us to resolve this litigation and agreeing to implement changes to prevent future hiring violations,” said EEOC Indianapolis Regional Attorney Kenneth Bird. “These steps demonstrate a commitment to achieving a workplace free from discrimination and retaliation.”

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex-based discrimination and retaliation against employees for filing discrimination charges with the EEOC. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC vs. Ephraim McDowell Health, Inc., et al., Civil Action No. 5:24-cv-00084) in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Central Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

Under the consent decree resolving the lawsuit, Ephraim McDowell will pay the female employee $335,000 in monetary relief and provide other injunctive and affirmative relief. The two-year decree requires the company to provide equal employment opportunity training, provide annual reports to the EEOC regarding its compliance with the decree, and post a notice about employees’ rights under federal law.

For more information on sex-based discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/sex-based-discrimination. For more information on retaliation, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/retaliation.

The EEOC’s Indianapolis District Office has jurisdiction over Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky and parts of Ohio.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division; the EEOC is responsible for investigating charges against state and local government employers before referring them to DOJ for potential litigation. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.