Hospital now facing class-action bias suit

By Deborah Tedford

Houston Chronicle

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt has certified a class of about 3,000 minority job applicants and employees of Houston Northwest Medical Center who claim they were victims of racial discrimination in employment.

The suit, filed last September, alleges Hispanics and blacks were discriminated against - in hiring and advancement opportunities solely on the basis of race as far back as Jan. 1, 1981.

"This decision is important because the size of the class is so numerically significant," said Robert S. Bennett, lead counsel for the plaintiffs in this class action.

An Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigation in the late 1980s found unlawful practices at the hospital, including failure or refusal to recruit and select blacks and Hispanics on an equal basis with whites.

After issuing a finding of discriminatory practices, the EEOC began in late 1987 to work with the hospital as part of a three-year corrective plan.

However, the plaintiffs claim, the hospital continued to use racial criteria for recruiting, hiring and treatment of applicants and employees.

As an example, minorities' applications were thrown into trash cans in their presence, said Patrick Chukelu, co-counsel in the suit.

He also said minorities were told that advertised positions had been filled while white applicants were interviewed for comparable posts.

Bennett and Chukelu said during the certification proceedings that doctors, nurses and pharmacists were also subjected to disparate treatment.

Officials with Houston Northwest, at 710 FM 1960 West, could not be reached Monday, but they have said the facility "has always been an equal opportunity employer" and that the EEOC findings were "untrue."

It also said the staff "mirrors the area from which it is drawn, northwest Houston and Montgomery County.  African-American and Hispanic managers, nurses, technicians and service employees are an integral part of the hospital's ability to provide the highest quality care.