PRESS RELEASE
9-28-11

Care Manor Healthcare, Llc Sued By EEOC For Retaliation

Nursing Home Facility in Mountain Home, Arkansas Fired Employee in Retaliation for Engaging in Protected Activity, Federal Agency Charges

MOUNTAIN  HOME, Ark. – A Mountain Home, Arkansas based company  that operates a nursing home and rehabilitation facility violated federal law  by discriminating against an employee because she complained about the hiring  of a manager who had sexually harassed her at a previous employer, the U.S.  Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed  today. The employee also placed Mountain Home on notice that she had filed a  charge of discrimination against her previous employer over the sexual  harassment.

The EEOC’s  suit, Civil Action No. 3:11-CV-03089-JLH, filed in U.S. District Court for the  Western District of Arkansas, Harrison Division, asserts that Care Manor  Healthcare, LLC, doing business as Care Manor Nursing Home, violated Title VII  of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when it terminated Frances Guthrie, who worked  for Care Manor at its nursing home and rehabilitation facility in Mountain  Home, Arkansas, because she engaged in protected activity.

The EEOC filed suit after first  attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation  process. The agency’s lawsuit seeks  monetary relief in the form of back pay, compensatory and punitive damages,  reinstatement and an injunction against future discrimination, among other items.

“The  company terminated Ms. Guthrie after she made a statutorily protected  complaint,” said Katharine W. Kores, district director of the EEOC’s Memphis  District Office, which has jurisdiction over Arkansas,  Tennessee and portions of Mississippi.  “This type of blatant retaliation is a priority for the EEOC. Employers cannot engage in such retaliatory  acts, which prevent workers from engaging in their federally protected right of  filing a charge with the EEOC.”

Care Manor Healthcare, LLC, is a  limited liability company based in Melbourne,  Arkansas. The company operates a facility in Mountain Home, Arkansas  under the name Care Manor Nursing Home that provides long term care and short  term rehabilitation services to patients.

The EEOC enforces federal laws  prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is  available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.