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The Redwoods to settle discrimination lawsuit

Brian Wilkinson

(Updated: Thursday, October 28, 2010, 7:54 PM)

Vacation-home rental company to pay $165,000 to former staff

A vacation-home rental management company in Yosemite National Park has agreed to pay $165,000 to settle a lawsuit that claimed it discriminated against Latino employees.

The September 2009 lawsuit was filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Wawona Property Management Inc., doing business as The Redwoods. It claimed Carol Arce Reyes, Domingo Reyes, Edwin B. Ramirez, Virginia Arce and Jorge Madrigal Arce were targeted for harassment, discipline, heightened scrutiny and eventual termination by an operations manager who favored non-Latino staff.

The suit also claimed general manager Pamela Cornwell was suspended and fired after reporting the discriminatory conduct to The Redwoods board of directors.

According to the EEOC, the victims were longtime seasonal employees of Mexican and Salvadoran descent, who worked in the housekeeping and maintenance departments since 1997. In November 2006, the company hired a new operations manager who expressed a disdain for the Latino employees early on, allegedly stating that "Mexicans had given (him) a headache," and that he did not like people of color.

The operations manager, the suit claimed, verbally abused and formally disciplined Latino staff for taking coffee breaks and failing cleaning inspections. The EEOC contends that two Latino housekeepers were disciplined after calling in absences due to the sudden hospitalization of their son, while non-Latino employees who violated company policies were promoted.

When Cornell raised concerns about possible discrimination issues to the company's board of directors, she was suspended and ultimately terminated, according to EEOC.

Thereafter, the operations manager forced the Latino claimants to quit due to his hostility towards them, the EEOC said.

The EEOC filed suit against The Redwoods in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, asserting that the national origin harassment, discrimination and retaliation were in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

In a prepared statement, Rick Stephens, president of the Wawona Property Management board of directors, said The Redwoods fully and thoroughly investigated the allegations at the time they were made and found that no discrimination or wrongful conduct occurred.

Stephens said that in lieu of an expensive legal battle with the EEOC, and without admitting fault, The Redwoods negotiated a monetary settlement for much less than the attorneys fees and costs that would have been incurred had the company taken the case through trial.

Anna Y. Park, regional attorney for the EEOC's Los Angeles District Office, said the employees filed complaints with the Fresno office of EOC.

"An investigation was undertaken that led to a finding of discrimination, harassment and retaliation."

According to the EEOC, The Redwoods agreed to revise its policies and procedures with respect to discrimination, harassment, retaliation and employee evaluations.

The Redwoods further agreed to contract an Equal Employment Opportunity consultant; periodically provide live anti-discrimination training to all employees in both English and Spanish, with additional training for managerial staff on how to properly handle complaints of discrimination and harassment.

"No matter how remote a place may seem, the EEOC aims to serve all workers who may be victims of unlawful discrimination," Park said. "Notwithstanding, the EEOC is pleased that The Redwoods is taking measures to rectify the situation and prevent future incidents of discrimination from occurring."

Park said the consent decree negotiated with the defendants has been submitted to the United States District Court and is expected to be approved by Junde Lawrence J. O'Neill this week.

"The funds will be disbursed to the claimants according to their individual damages," Park said.

The EEOC will send the defendant written notification designating the amount to be distributed to each claimant and the payments must be made within 10 days of the judge's approval of the decree.

Melissa Barrios, local director of the EEOC's Fresno office, said, "Workers should be able to come forward about discrimination they may be experiencing without fear that actions will be taken against them. Employers who engage in such illegal retaliation can and will be held accountable by the EEOC."

"We are pleased to reach a resolution in this case. Unfortunately, incidents of national origin discrimination complaints in the Fresno region are double (40%) what they are nationally (20%)," Park said. "It's a very prevalent problem unique to the region. We hope other employers who become aware of this case insure that they are in compliance with EEOC laws protecting people from national origin discrimination."

The EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws against employment discrimination. Further information is available at www.eeoc.gov.