kaiser-permanente-settles-racial-discrimination-class-action-lawsuits

Earlier this year, Kaiser Pementante settled two ongoing class-action racial discrimination lawsuits for a combined total of $18.9 million. To resolve the first lawsuit, Stewart et al. v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, et al., Kaiser paid $11.5 million to approximately 2,225 African American current and former employees.

For the second lawsuit, Cuenca et al. v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, et al., Kaiser Permanente agreed to pay another $7.4 million dollars to about 2,500 Hispanic employees.

Additional Settlement Terms in Stewart v. Kaiser

Stewart v. Kaiser was filed by lead plaintiff Shelby Stewart, who had worked for Kaiser for over 14 years.

The lawsuit alleged that Kaiser maintained pay-related and promotion-related procedures that had caused African American employees to be underpaid and underpromoted compared to similarly situated non-African American employees. 

The parties reached the settlement after more than two years of negotiations that involved a mediator and multiple labor statisticians. 

According to a press release, Kaiser Permanente must also institute new workplace programs that ensure that “African American employees’ compensation and opportunities for advancement are fair and equitable.” 

Moreover, Kaiser must appoint an internal compliance officer to ensure that it achieves the goals of the new workplace policies and programs. Finally, it must submit to an independent annual pay analysis for the next three years. 

Plaintiff’s counsel Felicia Medina stated that the settlement was a “tribute to the fortitude and resilience the Plaintiffs exercised throughout this lengthy, hard process where, for the good of the class, they told their truths and demanded change.”

Additional Settlement Terms in Cuenca v. Kaiser 

In Cuenca v. Kaiser, the Plaintiffs similarly alleged that several of Kaiser’s workplace policies had unfairly harmed the pay and promotion opportunities of Hispanic employees.

The lead Plaintiff, Michael Cuenca, worked for Kaiser Permanente for 10 years in its National Diversity & Inclusion office. 

As with the Stewart settlement, the Cuenca settlement requires Kaiser to retain a mutually agreed upon consultant to conduct an in-depth job analysis review.

This job analysis review must be created within one year. After the completion of the review, Kaiser will use it as a tool to create additional “equitable opportunities for Hispanic employees.”  

Contact Our California Employment Attorneys

When an employer has racially discriminated against a group of employees, the employees can defend their rights with a class-action lawsuit

Class-action lawsuits force employers to treat their employees equally and discourage future potential violations of racial discrimination laws. Moreover, class-action lawsuits provide the injured employees with the compensation they deserve.

If you are a current or former employee of Kaiser Permanente and think that you have been the target of racial discrimation, contact a dedicated California class-action lawsuit firm. 

Here at the Workplace Rights Law Group, we don’t take every case that comes our way. Instead, we hand-pick our cases to maintain our high standards. At our firm, we are willing to take specialized, unique approaches for each one of our cases to achieve the best results.  

We also have over 75 years of experience in employment law, and we’ve recovered millions of dollars for our clients. Don’t wait. Reach out to us today to schedule a free initial consultation.

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