Company paid 337 female, minority workers less than white male colleagues, officials say
.png "Cooper Health System entered into a conciliation agreement with the Department of Labor to resolve alleged discrimination at the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility in Camden, New Jersey, officials said.")
A company that contracts with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discriminated against hundreds of its female and minority employees as well as applicants and has agreed to pay a settlement to those affected, officials said.
Cooper Health System, a federal contractor with a research facility and hospital in Camden, New Jersey, discriminated against 64 female, Black and Hispanic applicants between 2016 and 2017, according to a Nov. 21 news release from the Department of Labor.
Additionally, 337 female and minority employees were paid at lower rates than their male, white colleagues in similar roles, the department said.
The company has not admitted wrongdoing, according to a statement by Thomas Rubino, Cooper’s senior vice president of communications, provided to McClatchy News.
The settlement was a “business decision to avoid spending millions of dollars on further legal proceedings rather than patient care,” Rubino stated. He added that “Cooper is proud of its record of hiring, promoting, and retaining women and minorities, saying “the health system’s workforce is made up of 75% women and 40% minorities.”
The company entered into an agreement with the Department of Labor and will pay $514,463 in back pay and $110,536 in interest to the affected individuals, the department said. They also agreed to ensure their personnel and compensation practices meet legal requirements going forward.
“When an employer accepts a federal contract, they must ensure equal opportunity in its hiring practices and pay their workers their full legally earned wages and benefits,” Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Northeast regional director Diana Sen said in the release. “This agreement will have a lasting impact on Cooper Health System’s workforce and sets a standard for the industry.”
In New Jersey, 1,011 charges of employment discrimination were filed in 2021, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
This story was originally published November 22, 2022 at 6:58 PM.