A federal civil rights lawsuit targeting a Burlington, Vermont nursing home over alleged racial harassment of Black employees will proceed to a jury trial this December, following a court ruling that found sufficient evidence for jurors to weigh the claims.
Why It Matters
The case centers on whether nursing home operators have an enforceable legal duty to protect employees from racially hostile conduct by residents — a question with significant implications for long-term care facilities and workplace civil rights law across the country. Vermont’s workforce and housing pressures have already strained care facilities statewide, making staff retention and workplace conditions a growing concern.
What Happened
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed its original complaint in 2022 against 98 Starr Road Operating Co., LLC, which operates under the name Elderwood at Burlington. The EEOC alleged that six Black staff members at the facility endured race-based verbal and physical assaults from white residents in 2020 and that managers and supervisors, despite being made aware of the behavior, failed to respond adequately or promptly.
The complaint was amended in 2024 to add Elderwood Administrative Services LLC as a defendant. Both companies are connected to owners Jeffery Rubin and Warren Cole.
Chief District Judge Christina Reiss denied the nursing home operators’ request to resolve the matter without a full trial, clearing the path for a jury to hear the case. In her ruling, Judge Reiss wrote that the totality of the evidence, viewed favorably toward the EEOC, could support a finding that staff “worked in an environment permeated with severe or pervasive racial discrimination” and that Elderwood failed to take “sufficiently prompt and effective remedial measures.”
By the Numbers
- 6 — Black staff members named as alleged victims of race-based harassment
- 2020 — year the alleged harassment took place
- 2022 — year the EEOC filed its original complaint
- 2024 — year the complaint was amended to include a second company
- 1 out of 5 stars — Elderwood at Burlington’s federal rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
- December 7 — scheduled jury draw date
The Facility’s Defense
Elderwood’s legal team argued that the facility faced inherent limitations in responding to resident behavior because federal and state regulations restrict how nursing homes can physically restrain or remove residents. The argument suggested that management’s options were constrained by the regulatory environment governing elder care.
However, Judge Reiss pointed out that Vermont law does allow for involuntary restraint or discharge of residents under specific circumstances, including situations involving the protection of others’ safety — undercutting the claim that operators had no meaningful recourse.
The facility’s federal regulatory record adds further context to the case. In 2021, federal regulators determined that Elderwood at Burlington failed to provide adequate care to residents during the Covid-19 outbreak, and the facility currently holds a one-star rating — the lowest possible — from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Zoom Out
The EEOC’s lawsuit reflects a broader national conversation about the civil rights obligations of healthcare employers when harassment originates from patients or residents rather than coworkers or supervisors. Courts across the country have grappled with how far employer liability extends in care settings, where the power dynamic between staff and those they serve is uniquely complex.
Vermont’s long-term care sector, like those in many states, has faced staffing shortages in recent years, heightening the stakes of workforce treatment and retention. Recruiting and keeping skilled nursing workers has become an acute challenge at facilities statewide.
What’s Next
With the jury draw set for December 7, the trial before Chief Judge Reiss will determine whether Elderwood’s response to the reported conduct met the legal standard required of employers under federal civil rights law. The outcome could influence how courts assess employer liability in similar elder-care workplace harassment disputes going forward.