Crothall Healthcare Settles Disability Lawsuit with EEOC

Crothall Healthcare previously entered into a conciliation agreement with OFCCP to resolve allegations of hiring discrimination against males

Crothall Healthcare, Inc. (Crothall) has entered into a consent decree to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC. EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. EEOC charged that Crothall violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for refusing to hire an applicant because of his disabilities.

The applicant, Bill Pack, who suffers from cerebral palsy and deafness, applied for and was interviewed by Crothall for a laundry services worker position in Rome, Georgia. Pack came to the interview with an American Sign Language interpreter and mobility aids and asked for a stool as an accommodation for his disability. According to EEOC, Crothall refused to extend an offer to Pack and stated that the position had been filled but hired more than 80 non-disabled workers into that job shortly after he applied.

Under the consent decree, Crothall will pay $37,500 and conduct regular reporting, monitoring, annual training, distribution of anti-discrimination policies, and notice posting.

EEOC Press Release

In December 2021, during a routine compliance review, OFCCP found that Crothall Healthcare discriminated against qualified male applicants for positions in the Environment Services job group at its Winston-Salem, NC facility. To resolve the allegations, Crothall Healthcare entered into a conciliation agreement with OFCCP and agreed to pay $120,000 in back pay and interest to 224 male applicants.

In addition to the financial settlement, Crothall Healthcare will make job offers to 28 class members, review and revise its selection process, analyze its total employment process to identify roadblocks to equal employment opportunity, develop and implement recordkeeping and record retention procedures, and train personnel. The company will also immediately list all employment opportunities with the appropriate employment service delivery system. OFCCP has included this settlement in the OFCCP Class Member Locator to identify additional alleged victims.

OFCCP Press Release