EEOC Sues Mid-Michigan Home Health & Hospice for Race Discrimination and Retaliation

Federal lawsuit says in-home health care provider assigned work based on race and fired black employee for complaining

FLINT, Mich. – Mid-Michigan Home Health & Hospice LLC, an in-home health care provider of bathing assistance to clients in central Michigan, violated federal law when it did not assign home visits in Grand Blanc, Michigan to a black certified nurse assistant (CNA) because of her race, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Mid-Michigan hired a black female as a CNA in April 2023. During the CNA’s employment, Mid-Michigan avoided sending her to patients in Grand Blanc, telling her those residents were “old-time” and “did not care for black people.” The CNA was sent to Grand Blanc five times in two months while three white employees were sent there more than 135 times. The CNA was eventually fired within 48 hours of complaining about three Grand Blanc assignments being taken from her schedule and given to a white employee.

“Customer preference is not a defense to race discrimination,” said Kenneth Bird, regional attorney for the Indianapolis District Office. “Mid-Michigan’s decision not to assign the employee to home visits in Grand Blanc because she is black was illegal, as was their decision to fire her for complaining about it.”

This alleged conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits racial discrimination and retaliation. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Mid-Michigan Home Health & Hospice LLC, Case No. 2:26-cv-10632) in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

For more information on race and color discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/racecolor-discrimination. For more information on retaliation, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/retaliation.

The EEOC’s Indianapolis District Office has jurisdiction over Indiana, Michigan, 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 also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov.