Beth Israel to pay $7M in gender bias settlement

Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center will pay its former chief of anesthesia $7 million to settle gender discrimination allegations, reported the Boston Herald.

In 2008, Carol Warfield hit BIMDC with a gender bias lawsuit, claiming its former surgery chief and then-CEO Paul Levy engaged in gender discrimination and retaliation, ultimately forcing her out of her position, The Boston Globe reported.

Although BIDMC has not admitted any wrongdoing, the hospital has agreed to sponsor an annual lecture series on women's health and the academic contributions of women in surgery.

The Boston hospital also agreed to name its pain clinic in Warfield's ­honor, the Herald noted.

BIDMC's gender bias settlement highlights the thorny legal and employment issues involving healthcare workplace discrimination.

For instance, Banner Health last summer paid out a hefty discrimination settlement. The Phoenix-based health system agreed to pay more than a quarter of a million dollars to settle claims it fired and failed to accommodate an employee with an intellectual disability.

Prior to that, the University of California San Diego Medical Center paid a civil penalty of $115,000 to resolve allegations it discriminated against immigrant employees and job applicants.

For more:
- read the Globe article
- here's the Herald article