CHS and EEOC have Four Decades of History Together

As early as 1974,  Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority, also known as Carolinas Healthcare System, has had employees filing EEOC charges on the basis of race discrimination as documented in this case:
http://www.ecases.us/ca4/1978/1/353283

Even retaliatory actions have been alleged since 1974 in association with the organization best known as Carolinas Healthcare System.

When I first spoke with the CHS Human Resources' "neutral party" in 2010, she was very relaxed and seemingly at ease with the fact that I had filed an EEOC charge against the company.  She even mentioned that these cases take about two years to be resolved.  That was indeed a sign that employee grievances and EEOC charges were a regular part of the CHS corporate culture.

Typically, EEOC asks employers to respond to EEOC charges within 30 days.  Carolinas Healthcare System typically waits until the end of the response deadline and then ask for an extension to respond.  So 90 days from filing a complaint with the EEOC is about the soonest that the EEOC may get a response from CHS.

I thought this behavior was strange as if the EEOC was being "relaxed" about how slow Carolinas Healthcare System was at responding to them.  I wondered if they were working together or if maybe CHS had sued the EEOC before.  Then I found it!

Yes,  Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority had a case against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission back in 1978 over the Freedom of Information Act.

This is a snapshot of the case:

571 F.2d 195  4th Circuit 1978

CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG HOSPITAL AUTHORITY, Appellee,
v.
Lowell W. PERRY, Chairman of the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission and the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, Appellant.
CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG HOSPITAL AUTHORITY, Appellant,
v.

Lowell W. PERRY, Chairman of the Equal Employment

Opportunity Commission and the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, Appellee.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority (Hospital) brought this action against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552,1 seeking to compel production of sworn statements taken by the EEOC from charging parties in connection with employment discrimination charges against it. It, also, requested in its complaint an injunction against further proceedings by the EEOC until its application for relief under the FOIA was disposed of.

The facts giving rise to the action are as follows: In 1974, eight hospital employees, eight former employees and two employment applicants filed employment discrimination charges with the EEOC alleging that Charlotte Memorial Hospital discriminated against blacks in hiring, promotion, termination, job classifications and employment terms and conditions. Five employees later amended their charges to include allegations of retaliatory discharge. The representatives of the EEOC also procured from the charging parties statements under oath, supplementary of their charges, pursuant to EEOC's instructions, as set forth in its Compliance Manual.2

The EEOC gave the Hospital notice of the charges, including the names of the charging parties, the dates of the alleged violations and the general nature of the discriminatory charges. On May 1, 1975, the EEOC notified the Hospital that an investigation of the eighteen charges was to begin May 20, 1975. The Hospital thereupon wrote the investigator requesting copies of "the sworn statements (procured) from the charging parties which set forth the specifics of their claims." When the investigator failed to produce these "sworn statements," the Hospital denied the investigator permission to conduct an investigation and refused to allow him to enter its premises or to examine its employment files and records.

Please click on the link at the beginning of this article to reference more of this case.

Below is other court reference material for further research as well:

Nos. 76-2272, 76-2273.

United States Court of Appeals,
Fourth Circuit.

Argued April 4, 1977.
Decided Jan. 26, 1978.

Vella M. Fink, Atty., E. E. O. C., Washington, D. C. (Abner W. Sibal, Gen. Counsel, Joseph T. Eddins, Associate Gen. Counsel, Beatrice Rosenberg, Asst. Gen. Counsel, E. E. O. C., Washington, D. C., on brief), for Lowell W. Perry and E. E. O. C.

John O. Pollard, Charlotte, N. C. (Blakeney, Alexander & Machen, Charlotte, N. C., on brief), for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority.

Before CLARK, Supreme Court Justice,* HAYNSWORTH, Chief Judge, and RUSSELL, Circuit Judge.

So don't you wonder if you can teach an old dog new tricks?