AppleOne and Cardinal Health Will Pay $1.45 Million to Settle a Retaliation Allegation
Global health care services and products company Cardinal Health will pay $1.45 million to resolve a racial harassment and retaliation discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Cardinal Health, along with California-based staffing agency AppleOne, also have agreed to implement sweeping injunctive relief as part of the settlement.
According to the EEOC, African American employees directly employed by Cardinal Health or assigned to work for Cardinal Health by AppleOne were subjected to ongoing and unwelcome harassment based on their race.
When employees complained, neither Cardinal Health nor AppleOne took immediate and corrective action regarding the harassment, allowing the hostile work environment to fester, according to the EEOC. The EEOC further charged that employees who did complain were retaliated against, disciplined and terminated, while others felt that they had no choice but to quit.
