Nursing Home to Pay $125K to Settle Hiring Bias Charges

An Omaha, Neb., nursing facility as part of a settlement with the Labor Department will pay out $125,000 to white and Hispanic nursing aid applicants who were allegedly passed over for jobs in favor of black applicants.

A senior care facility in Delaware agreed in January to pay $50,000 to settle similar claims brought by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, the DOL subagency that audits federal contractor facilities for compliance with federal equal employment opportunity laws. The OFCCP collected more than $20 million in 2017 in settlement payouts from contractor facilities whose data showed workplace discrimination.

The OFCCP audited the GGNSC Omaha Hallmark LLC’s facility from Jan. 1, 2012, to Aug. 31, 2013. An analysis of its hiring data revealed disparate treatment among applicant groups for certified nursing assistant positions.

The facility failed “to afford White and Hispanic applicants equal employment opportunity,” according to the settlement document. GGNSC and its subsequent facility operator, Omaha Metro Care and Rehabilitation LLC, agreed to establish a $125,000 settlement fund.

The potential class of 149 white class members and 21 Hispanic class members are all entitled to an equal share from the settlement fund and “reasonable efforts” on Omaha Metro Care’s part to hire them for CNA positions.

Omaha Metro Care and GGNSC must also submit to OFCCP progress reports every six months detailing compliance with the conciliation agreement.

The DOL, Omaha Metro Care, and GGNSC didn’t immediately respond to Bloomberg Law’s requests for comment.