EEOC Wins $105,000 Jury Verdict Against Northwest Arkansas Hospitals in Sex Discrimination Suit

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Northwest Arkansas Hospitals, LLC will pay more than $100,000 in compensatory and punitive damages to a former male employee after a jury found in favor of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in a sex discrimination lawsuit, the federal agency announced today.

According to the EEOC's lawsuit, Northwest Arkansas Hospitals, LLC, doing business as Northwest Medical Center-Bentonville, violated federal law when it allowed two doctors to subject a male surgical technician to discrimination because of his sex.

The EEOC presented evidence at trial showing that in 2022, two female obstetricians in the labor and delivery unit prohibited a surgical technician from performing a majority of the job duties for which he was hired, because he is male. Although numerous complaints about the discrimination were escalated as high as the CEO, the hospital failed to follow its own anti-discrimination policies and refused to end the discrimination. At trial, a former company director testified that the surgical technician was a victim of the hospital's culture of discrimination. In 2022, the hospital was owned by Community Health Systems, Inc., based in Franklin, Tennessee.

"Federal law affords all workers, male and female, the right to work in a discrimination-free environment," said Faye Williams, regional attorney for the EEOC's Memphis District. "The EEOC will continue to fight against sex discrimination in American workplaces."

Such conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex discrimination. The EEOC sued in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, Fayetteville Division, (EEOC v. Northwest Arkansas Hospitals, LLC, Case No. 5:24-cv-5195) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

Delner Franklin-Thomas, director of the EEOC's Memphis District, said, "Employees should be judged only on their ability to do their job. The EEOC is dedicated to defending American workers against sex-based discrimination."

On July 24, after a five-day trial, the jury returned a verdict for the EEOC, awarding compensatory damages of $5,000 plus $100,000 in punitive damages to the surgical technician. In light of the successful verdict, EEOC plans to petition the court for injunctive relief, including requiring the hospital to conduct training to prevent future sex discrimination, and will submit a bill of costs to be paid by the defendant.

For more information on sex-based discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/sex-based-discrimination .

The EEOC's Memphis District Office has jurisdiction over Arkansas, Tennessee, and 17 counties in Northern Mississippi.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government's employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov .