In June of 2005, the Detroit District Office of the EEOC filed suit in U.S District Court for the Western District of Michigan against Spectrum Health Worth Home Care, a provider of in-home health care. The suit alleged that two female African-American employees were sexually and racially harassed and sexually assaulted by a patient to whom they were assigned. According to the EEOC, their employer violated Title VII when it failed to remedy or take steps to prevent this harassment.

Shortly after the case was filed, the two employees intervened as plaintiffs. The defendant moved for summary judgment as to the EEOC's claims on the grounds that the EEOC had failed to make a good-faith effort to conciliate before filing suit. The court (Judge Gordon J. Quist) disagreed and the motion was denied on March 2, 2006. 2006 WL 519779.

The EEOC's suit was resolved on October 23, 2006 by a consent judgment which required the defendant to conduct anti-discrimination training of its employees and to report any future incidents of harassment or discrimination to the EEOC. The decree remained in effect until December 31, 2009.

But, the consent decree did not resolve the private suit. After a series of discovery disputes, and other motion practice (including motions for summary judgment on different claims, and a motion for separate trials), the defendant and the intervening plaintiffs eventually agreed on a settlement in June of 2007, right before the case was set for a jury trial before Judge Jack Zouhary. The terms of this settlement were not disclosed due to confidentiality. The case was dismissed with prejudice, no further activity occurred on the docket for years, and so the case is closed.

Jason Chester - 05/21/2008
Rachel Barr - 01/03/2018


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