Racial Discrimination Lawsuit Settled in California

Workers who are being discriminated against racially may think that they don’t have any recourse. A recent development at Brookdale Senior Living’s Auburn facility shows that standing up for yourself when you’re the victim of discrimination might be challenging but it could be well worth it in the end.

The incident at the heart of this case occurred in the summer of 2018. An African American worker claimed that her co-workers said something that had a racial connotation that was offensive to her. She opted to take legal action, and the case was recently resolved.

The woman who was the victim of discrimination settled for $80,000 in restitution over the event. On top of that, the facility will have to train personnel about discrimination, as well as retaliation. The retaliation in the woman’s case was because she was called into a meeting and asked to justify her reasons for being offended by the racially charged comment.

After that meeting, the woman was suspended pending the investigation. She tried to call several times to ask when she could return, but those calls went unanswered. The company then terminated her employment claiming that she had abandoned her position.

The facility didn’t admit to any wrongdoing in the settlement. While the company did agree to pay the woman restitution, the criteria that employees undergo training is equally as important. This could help prevent others from having to deal with the same thing she had to deal with.

Handling these matters isn’t always an easy task. It’s imperative that you have someone on your side who is familiar with the legal basis for these claims and who is willing to protect your interests.