EEOC Sues Riverwalk Post-Acute for Race Harassment and Retaliation

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Riverwalk Post-Acute, a Riverside skilled nursing facility, violated federal law by allowing a class of Black employees to be subjected to racial harassment and one employee to be retaliated against, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today. The EEOC filed suit against Orange Treeidence OPCO, LLC, Providence Group, Inc., and Providence Administrative Consulting Services, Inc., dba Riverwalk Post-Acute.

According to EEOC’s lawsuit, since at least 2018, Riverwalk Post-Acute allowed a class of Black employees to be subjected to racial harassment by residents, co-workers and a supervisor. The harassment included repeated, frequent and offensive race-based remarks and slurs directed at staff. The EEOC contends that all three employers failed to adequately respond to multiple complaints of harassment. Employees were told to tolerate abusive remarks and a hostile work environment, and one employee was retaliated against for complaining of racial harassment, the EEOC’s suit further alleges.

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race and retaliation. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (Case No.: 5:22-cv-00425) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The EEOC’s suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages for a class of employees, as well as injunctive relief intended to prevent and correct discrimination.

“The EEOC continues to see race harassment and retaliation cases,” said Anna Park, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Los Angeles District Office. “We encourage employers to meet their obligations under Title VII to prevent and correct harassment and retaliation.”

Christine Park-Gonzalez, the EEOC’s Los Angeles acting district director, added, “Federal discrimination laws place the responsibility of stopping and addressing harassment in the workplace on the employer. It is imperative that complaints of harassment be taken seriously and addressed in a timely manner. Retaliation for such complaints has no place in our workplaces.”

Headquartered in Farmington, Utah, Riverwalk Post-Acute provides short or long-term care for residents and patients.

Preventing systemic workplace harassment through strong enforcement is also one of the six national priorities identified by the Commission’s Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP).

For more information on harassment, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/harassment. For more information on race and color discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/racecolor-discrimination.

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.