Health Care Transportation Company Subjected Female Paramedics to Ongoing Sexual Harassment and Retaliation, Federal Agency Charges
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – MedicOne Medical Response, an independent medical transport company providing ambulance services, violated federal civil rights laws when it failed to correct ongoing sexual harassment at its Nashville branch and retaliated against a woman who complained about sexual harassment, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.
MedicOne Medical Response, headquartered in Farmers Branch, Texas, operates three ambulance services in Tennessee and has facilities in Mississippi and Illinois.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the company’s operations manager repeatedly subjected female paramedics to unwelcome sexual advances, comments and touching. The manager routinely massaged his female subordinates’ shoulders, made inappropriate comments about their bodies, and requested sex in exchange for better work hours. He also sent inappropriate pictures of himself to a subordinate and told her he wanted to have sex. When a woman complained of the harassing behavior, Medic One fired her soon after her complaint.
Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex and protects workers from sexual harassment and retaliation. The EEOC filed its suit against Medic One in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Nashville Division (Civil Action No. 3:20-cv-00912), after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The EEOC’s suit seeks monetary relief in the form of back pay and compensatory damages, as well as an injunction intended to prevent MedicOne from engaging in further discrimination and retaliation.
“Employers who tolerate persistent sexual harassment and punish victims for exercising their right to oppose such behavior violate federal law,” said Delner Franklin-Thomas, district director of the EEOC’s Memphis District Office, which has jurisdiction over Arkansas, Tennessee and portions of Mississippi.
The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.
