Sutter Roseville Medical Center Settles EEOC Disability Discrimination Charge for $200,000

ROSEVILLE, Calif. — Sutter Roseville Medical Center, part of the Sutter Health network of hospitals, clinics and specialty care facilities, agreed to provide $200,000 in back pay and compensatory damages along with other injunctive relief to resolve a disability discrimination investigation by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

According to the EEOC, in April 2023, a staff nurse formerly employed by Sutter Roseville filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC alleging that she had been discharged after her managers refused to provide her with a reasonable accommodation for her disability.

The EEOC conducted an investigation and found evidence confirming that rather than provide her with the reasonable accommodation of a lateral reassignment to an open position, Sutter Roseville refused to consider any accommodation, and instead terminated her because of her disability.

“Reasonable accommodations, including ‘last resort’ accommodations such as reassignment to another vacant position, are required by law to be provided to qualified individuals with disabilities,” said Christopher Green, director of the EEOC’s San Francisco District. “While I am pleased that Sutter Roseville agreed to this resolution, it is disappointing to see yet another instance of an employer failing to meet its obligations under federal disability law.”

The alleged conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination based on disability and requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities, absent undue hardship.

Following the investigation, the parties engaged in the EEOC’s pre-litigation conciliation process, resulting in a settlement requiring Sutter Roseville to provide $200,000 in back pay and compensatory damages to the former employee. Additionally, the medical center will be required to provide extensive ADA training to human resources staff, post a notice concerning equal employment opportunity rights, and submit periodic compliance reports to EEOC for the next two years.

For more information on disability discrimination in the workplace, including reasonable accommodations, visit https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc-disability-related-resources.

The EEOC’s San Francisco District Office has jurisdiction over Northern California, Northern Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Idaho, and Montana.

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 also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov.