Antelope Valley Hospital Sued for Harassment of Hispanic Staff

LOS ANGELES — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed a national origin harassment lawsuit against Antelope Valley Hospital, an acute care hospital in Lancaster, Calif., on behalf of a class of at least 12 Hispanic housekeeping employees.

In its lawsuit, the EEOC contends that there was tension between Hispanic and African-American employees in the Environmental Services Housekeeping (EVS) section of the hospital. According to the EEOC, Hispanic employees were constantly ridiculed and harassed by supervisors and co-workers, and when one of the employees complained to the human resources department, her complaint was not appropriately addressed. The EEOC further asserts that while other management officials were aware of the harassment, Antelope Valley Hospital failed to take immediate, corrective action to put a halt to the hostile work environment.

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (EEOC v. Antelope Valley Hospital, Case No. CV 10-7279-JC) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement. The EEOC’s suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages on behalf of the class, along with injunctive relief to prevent future national origin harassment.

According to its website, Antelope Valley Hospital is a 420-bed acute care hospital and the only full-service hospital in the Antelope Valley area of California. The hospital employs over 2,000 employees.