Nickerson, Judge William M.

English

DigitalCommons@ILR

Cornell University ILR School 
DigitalCommons@ILR 
Consent Decrees Labor and Employment Law Program 
12-10-2010 
EEOC v. Hi Care, Inc. d/b/a Home Instead Senior Care 
Judge William M. Nickerson 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/condec 
Thank you for downloading this resource, provided by the ILR School's Labor and Employment 
Law Program. Please help support our student research fellowship program with a gift to the 
Legal Repositories! 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Labor and Employment Law Program at 
DigitalCommons@ILR. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consent Decrees by an authorized administrator of 
DigitalCommons@ILR. For more information, please contact catherwood-dig@cornell.edu. 
If you have a disability and are having trouble accessing information on this website or need materials in an 
alternate format, contact web-accessibility@cornell.edu for assistance. 
EEOC v. Hi Care, Inc. d/b/a Home Instead Senior Care 
Keywords 
EEOC, Hi Care, Home Instead Senior Care, 10-WMN-02692, Consent Decree, Disparate Treatment, 
Assignment, Race, Hospitality, Employment Law, Title VII 
This article is available at DigitalCommons@ILR: https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/condec/241 
Case 1:10-cv-02692-WMN Document 6 Filed 12/10/10 Page 1 of 7 
Case 1:10-cv-02692-WMN Document 5 Filed 12/09/10 Page 1 of 7 
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND 
NORTHERN DIVISION 
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY 
COMMISIION, 
Plaintff,, 
v. 
HI CARE, INC. 
d/b/a HOME INSTEAD SENIOR CARE, 
Defendan.. 
10-WMN-02692 
CONSENT DECREE 
This action was instituted by Plaintiff, Equal Employment Opportunity Commsssinn 
(hereinafter the "EEOC" or the "Commsssion"), against Defendant HiCare, Inc. ("Defendant") 
alleging that Defendant engaged in unlawful employment practices at its Arnold and Ellicott 
City, Maryland offices, in violation of Section 703 of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. S 2000e-2(a)(2). 
Specifically, the Commissinn alleged that Defendant utilized a racial coding system to identify 
clients who prefer Caucasian caregivers, internally referring to clients who prefer Caucasian 
caregivess as "circle dots," and that Defendant relied upon such racial coding when assigning 
caregivess to work by catering to the racial preferencss of its clients. The parties desire to 
resolve the Commsssion's action without any admission or acknowledgement of liability or 
wrongdongg on the part of Defendant and without the time and expense of continued litigation. 
The parties desire to formulate a plan to be embodied in this Consent Decree consistent with 
Title VII. 
) 
) 
) 
1 
Case 1:10-cv-02692-WMN Document 6 Filed 12/10/10 Page 2 of 7 
Case 1:10-cv-02692-WMN Document 5 Filed 12/09/10 Page 2 of 7 
The Court has examined this Decree and finds that it is reasonabee and just and in 
accordanee with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Title VII. Therefore, upon due 
consideration of the record herein and being fully advised in the premise,, it is ORDERED, 
ADJUDGED, AND DECREED: 
Scope of Decree 
1. This Decree resolves all issues and claims in the Complaint filed by the 
Commsssion in this action, including but not limited to those claims which emanated from the 
Charge of Discrimination filed by Christina Omole. This Decree in no way affects the 
Commsssion's right to process any other pending or future charges that may be filed against 
Defendant and to commence civil actions on any such charges as the Commissinn sees fit. 
2. This Decree shall be in effect for five years from the date of entry. During that 
time, this Court shall retain jurisdiction over this matter and the parties for purposes of enforcing 
compiianee with the Decree, including issuing such orders as may be required to effectuaee the 
purposes of the Decree. 
3. This Decree, being entered with the consent of EEOC and Defendan,, shall not 
constitute an adjudication or finding on the merits of the case. 
Relief to Claimanss 
4. Defendant shall pay $150,000 to be distributed to Claimanss in amounss to be 
determined by the Commissinn at its sole discretion. Claimanss are defined as all caregivess 
employed by Defendant from October 2007 through the entry of this Decree. All of the 
monetary relief paid to the Claimanss pursuant to this Decree is acknowledged to be 
compensatory damages under Title VII. 
2 
Case 1:10-cv-02692-WMN Document 6 Filed 12/10/10 Page 3 of 7 
Case 1:10-cv-02692-WMN Document 5 Filed 12/09/10 Page 3 of 7 
5. Within ten (10) business days of entry of this Decree, Defendant shall provide the 
Commsssion with the names, dates of employment, and status (full-time/part-time) of each 
caregiver employed with Defendant from October 2007 through the entry of this Decree, which 
the Commissinn shall use to apportion damages based on Claimants' length of service and 
employment status with Defendan.. Within five (5) business days of receiving the names, dates 
of employment, and status, the Commission shall provide Defendant with the apportionment 
owed to each Claiman.. Within twenty (20) days of receiving the apportionment of damages, 
Defendant shall issue a check to each Claimant in the amount the Commission has determined. 
Defendant shall submit a copy of each check and related correspondence to the EEOC, Baltimor. 
District Office, Attn: Lindsey White, 10 S. Howard Street, Third Floor, Baltimore, Maryland 
21201. Furthe,, Defendant shall issue an Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") Form 1099 to each 
claiman,, if required under IRS rules and regulation,, for the 2010 tax year in the amount each 
claimant received. 
6. Defendant shall promplly notify the EEOC in writing if any checks issued to 
Claimanss are returned as undeliverable or are not cashed after a period of thirty calendar days 
has elapsed after being mailed. With the assistance of the EEOC, Defendant shall make a good 
faith effort to locate any Claimant whose check is returned as undeliverable and will re-mall the 
check once to those for whom a potentially new address can be found. After allowing a 
reasonabee time for negotiation of settlement checks and location of Claimants, not to exceed 
three months, any remaining undistributed settlement funds will be sent to Maryland Legal Aid. 
3 
Case 1:10-cv-02692-WMN Document 6 Filed 12/10/10 Page 4 of 7 
Case 1:10-cv-02692-WMN Document 5 Filed 12/09/10 Page 4 of 7 
Injunctive Relief 
7. Defendan,, its officers, agents, servants, employees and all persons acting on its 
behalf hereby are enjoined from any and all patterns and practices of engagement in racial 
coding. In addition, Defendant will cease any practices, current or previou,, which permit 
customess or clients to dictate Defendans's business operation with respect to race-based 
assignment of employees based on the customers' racial preference unless specifically requested 
by the caregive.. Racial discrimination violates Title VII, which, in part, is set forth below: 
It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer --
(1) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individua,, or otherwsse discriminate 
against any individual with respect to [her] compensation, terms, condition,, or privileges 
of employment, because of such individual's ... color .... 
(2) to limit, segregate, or classify his employees or applicanss for employment in any way 
which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or 
otherwsse adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual's race, 
color, religion, sex, or national origin. 
42U.S.C. 92000e-2(a)(l)&(2). 
8. This injunction shall survive the duration of this Decree. 
Title VII Training 
9. Once during the calendar year 2011 and once during every calendar year 
thereafter for the duration of this Decree, Defendant will provide all HiCare recruitess and 
human resources personnel with no fewer than two (2) hours of live training on the requirements 
and prohibitions of Title VII. 
a. The training will be conducted by Rebecca Strandberg, of Rebecca 
Strandberg & Associates, PA. 
4 
Case 1:10-cv-02692-WMN Document 6 Filed 12/10/10 Page 5 of 7 
Case 1:10-cv-02692-WMN Document 5 Filed 12/09/10 Page 5 of 7 
b. All Title VII training materials will be provided by Defendant to the 
EEOC within sixty (60) days of the entry of this decree. The training will cover racial 
discrimination with a special emphasss on the discriminatory assignment of caregivess based on 
the racial preferencss of clients unless specifically requested by the caregive.. 
c. Within ten (10) business days after the training, Defendant shall forward 
to EEOC a copy of the attendance records from the training session. 
10. During the calendar year 2011 and once during every calendar year thereafter for 
the duration of this Decree, Defendant shall provide newly hired HiCare recruitess and human 
resources personnel with Title VII training within fifteen (15) days from the newly hired 
personnes's first day of work. The training will be conducted live or in DVD/Video format. 
a. Within ten (10) business days after the training, Defendant shall forward 
to EEOC a copy of the attendance records from the training session. 
Policies and Procedures 
11. Within fifteen (15) days of the entry of this Decree, Defendant shall implement a 
policy that addresses the potential safety risks of caregivess assigned to customess with racial 
preferences without imposing a race-conscious work limitation on its workforce. This policy is 
attached as Exhibtt A. 
Notice and Postings 
12. Within ten (10) business days of entry of this Decree, Defendant shall post and 
cause to remain posted the posters required to be displayed in the workplace by Commission 
Regulations, 29 C.F.R. ~ 1601.30, in all places where notices to employees customarily are 
posted at Defendans's facilities. 
5 
Case 1:10-cv-02692-WMN Document 6 Filed 12/10/10 Page 6 of 7 
Case 1:10-cv-02692-WMN Document 5 Filed 12/09/10 Page 6 of 7 
13. Within ten (10) business days of entry of this Decree, Defendant shall post 
Exhibtt B ("Notice to Employees") in all places where notices to employees customarily are 
posted at Defendans's facilities. This Exhibit shall be posted and maintained for the duration of 
the Decree. Exhibtt B shall also be signed by Owner Dave Dickens with the date of actual 
posting shown thereon. Should the Exhibtt become defaced, marred, or otherwsse made 
unreadable, upon written notice of same and a reasonabee time to act, Defendant shall ensure that 
new readable copies of the Exhibtt are posted in the same manner as heretofoee specified. 
Within thirty (30) days of approval of this Decree, Defendant shall forward to the Commission's 
Baltimoee Field Office a copy of the signed Notice and written certificatinn that the Notice has 
been posted and a statement of the location(s) and date of posting. 
Monitoring Provisions 
14. Defendans's Human Resources Director or appropriate designee, will direct, 
monitor and maintain responsibitity for implementation of this Decree. 
15. EEOC may monitor compiianee during the duration of this Decree by inspection 
of Defendans's premises upon ten (10) business days' written notice to Defendant by the EEOC. 
Upon such notice, Defendant will make available for inspection its facilities sought to be 
inspected by EEOC. 
16. All materials required by this Decree to be sent to EEOC shall be addressed to: 
Equal Employment Opportuntty Commissinn 
Baltimore Field Office 
Attention: Lindsey A. White, Trial Attorney 
10 S. Howard Street, Third Floor 
Baltimore, Maryland 21201 
17. The Commission and Defendant shall bear their own costs and attorney'' fees. 
6 
Case 1:10-cv-02692-WMN Document 6 Filed 12/10/10 Page 7 of 7 
Case 1:10-cv-02692-WMN Document 5 Filed 12/09/10 Page 7 of 7 
18. The undersigndd counsel of record in the above-captioned action hereby consen,, 
on behalf of their respective clients, to the entry of the foregoing Consent Decree. 
FOR PLAINTIFF: 
Respectfully submitted, 
FOR DEFENDAN:: 
/s/ 
Debra M. Lawrence 
Regional Attorney 
lsi 
Maria Salacuse (Bar No. 15562) 
Supervisory Trial Attorney 
J? 
Lindsey A. White (Bar No. 29183) 
Trial Attorney 
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY 
COMMISSION 
Baltimore Field Office 
lO S. Howard Street, Third Floor 
Baltimore, MD 21201 
SO ORDERED. 
I si 
(signed by Lindsey A. White with permissioi 
of Rebecca N. Strandberg) 
Rebecca N. Strandberg (Bar No. 02196) 
Rebecca Strandberg & Associates, PA 
8607 Second Avenue, Suite 405A 
Silver Spring, MD 20910 
Signed and entered this lO%ofJkc^O^ 2010. 
William M.Nicl^on 
United States District Court Judge 
7 


EEOC v. Hi Care, Inc. d/b/a Home Instead Senior Care

https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1242&amp;context=condec

EEOC v. Hi Care, Inc. d/b/a Home Instead Senior Care

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

DigitalCommons@ILR