Class-action lawsuit continues to grow against local hospital Plaintiffs now number almost 3,000 in discrimination dispute

WEEK OF MAY 5-11, 1995

Houston Business Journal

By Darrin Schlegel

A class-action lawsuit filed against a local hospital has grown from a relatively small number of plaintiffs to almost 3,000 participants.

More than 2,800 African-Americans and Hispanics allege that Houston Northwest Medical Center Inc. - giving preference to whites - denied them employment solely because of race in a suit certified as a class action by a federal judge this month.

The suit, which asks for unspecified damages, is the result of a federal investigation into the employment practices of the hospital dating back to January of 1981.

During a 10-year investigation, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission determined that the hospital allegedly discriminated against minorities applying for jobs.

Attorneys for Catalina Garcia, three other co-plaintiffs and the rest of the class contend that racial discrimination against minorities was "open and blatant" at the, hospital and charge that Caucasian applicants for job openings at the hospital were treated "politely and with dignity" while minority job candidates were "treated with the utmost hostility."

In a prepared statement, hospital officials deny any wrongdoing and question the legitimacy of the number of people involved in the suit."

The hospital vigorously denies the allegations by a few former applicants and employees that it practiced or tolerated any form of race or national origin discriminations the letter states.  It also refutes the EEOC's findings, labeling them "untrue." Fifteen separate lawsuits - including at least one class-action case involving 90 African-Americans and Hispanics were filed after the EEOC issued "right to sue" letters in July of 1994 to 347 minority members it found had been discriminated against while investigating the hospital, according to court documents.

Those plaintiffs have been invited to join the recently certified class action, says Patrick Chukelu, co-counsel in the suit.  Chukelu says the number of plaintiffs involved in the new suit represents the nearly 3,000 minority job applicants at the hospital from January of 1981 through April of 1990,

Chukelu's law firm Bennett, Broocks, Baker & Lange has just begun the process of contacting those individuals, he says.

"Our clients requested that we represent the other people who had not brought lawsuits," says Chukelu, referring to the reasoning behind the class action.

The hospital's prepared statement claims only a small portion of that group ever indicated that they thought they were treated unfairly.

"When those same individuals were asked by the EEOC whether they thought they had experienced any discrimination, only about 10 percent responded.  Of that 10 percent, Only about 90 individuals thought they had a strong enough claim to bring a lawsuit," the statement says.