NEW YORK – The Nanuet office of Interim Healthcare of Greater New
York has agreed to pay a $100,000 fine to the State Attorney General’s
Office for placing a classified job ad in a Pennysaver newspaper requesting
a female “laid back nurse, no Haitians.”
When the company ran the ad last fall, there was a loud outcry from a
number of groups.
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced the agreement on Thursday
saying the company has agreed to:
• Develop a caregiver placement employment opportunity policy prohibiting
discriminatory conduct in processing patients’ requests for caregivers,
hiring and advertising for employment in compliance with the law;
• Designate the vice president of human resources to oversee the
processing of patients’ requests for caregivers, advertising and
hiring process;
• Conduct an anti-discrimination training program for all employees
whose responsibilities involve patients’ request for caregivers,
recruitment, advertising, and hiring;
• Investigate all complaints, written or oral, alleging discriminatory
treatment on the basis of race, national origin or gender and provide
the attorney general with reports describing all such complaints.
One of those who lashed out at the ad last fall was State Senator David
Carlucci who said Thursday that “the contributions Haitian-Americans
and their families have made to not only the healthcare profession but
in all aspects of our society should be celebrated, not rejects, and this
settlement sends a strong message of our commitment to protect the rights
of all New Yorkers.”
Assemblyman Ellen Jaffee said any company or organization that singles
out a group of individuals in a discriminatory advertisement because of
national origin “is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”
