The Woodlands Psychiatry and Counseling Company, formerly known as the Woodlands Integrative Care Hospital (Woodlands Psychiatry), located in Conroe, Texas, will pay a former employee US$22,500 to resolve a retaliation lawsuit brought by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.
According to the EEOC’s suit a licensed chemical dependency counselor employed by Woodlands Psychiatry was fired, via text, by the owner of the company after he learned she had filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC. The chief nursing officer for the facility confirmed the employee was fired because she had filed a charge of discrimination.
Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits an employer from retaliating against an employee who has filed a charge of discrimination, testified, assisted or participated in any charge of unlawful discrimination. The EEOC filed its suit (Civil Action No. 4:20-cv-02275) in US District Court for the Southern District of Texas after first attempting to reach a prelitigation settlement through its voluntary conciliation process.
Under a three-year consent decree entered on September 23, 2021, Woodlands Psychiatry will pay the employee US$22,500 in compensatory damages and will also conduct training regarding Title VII’s prohibition against retaliation, update its antidiscrimination policies, post a notice prohibiting discrimination, and provide regular reports to the EEOC concerning complaints of discrimination and retaliation.
“Title VII protects workers who participate in the EEOC process, especially those who seek redress from discriminatory or retaliatory conduct in the workplace by filing a charge of discrimination” said regional attorney for the EEOC’s Houston District Office, Rudy Sustaita. “We will safeguard employees’ statutory rights under Title VII by filing suit to enforce the law, especially on behalf of employees who were fired or otherwise retaliated against because they filed a charge of discrimination.”
“Retaliation against employees who report discrimination is unlawful,” said the trial attorney in charge of the case, Lloyd Van Oostenrijk,. “The Commission aggressively investigates, and, if necessary, prosecutes employers who violate Title VII’s anti-retaliation provision.”
The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.
