In 2008, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against John Muir Health, accusing the health care company of improperly and illegally denying employment to eight potential employees based on the applicants' latex allergies. Recently, the employment lawsuit ended in settlement, with John Muir Health agreeing to pay $340,000 to the applicants.

According to the 2008 lawsuit, seven nurses and one lab technician were denied employment at John Muir's Walnut Creek Hospital in 2003 and 2004 after each was found to be allergic to latex. The EEOC claimed that the applicants were wrongly classified as having life-threatening latex allergies, and that independent tests later confirmed that they only had minor allergies.

The lawsuit accused the company of discriminating against the applicants on the basis of a perceived disability, claiming that the hospital should have made arrangements for them to use latex substitutes instead of simply denying them employment. John Muir denied discriminating against the applicants, stating that it regularly hired employees with allergies or sensitivities to latex. However, the company claims, it was unable to accommodate the eight applicants "because of the prevalence of latex at the time in the areas where they were to work."

Although it is a costly option for health care providers, John Muir agreed to utilize an allergist to help determine alternative options for potential or current employees that are allergic to latex. Officials say that latex use has also been reduced in both of the company's California hospitals.

Since being denied employment at Walnut Creek, all eight employees have found other jobs in the health care field.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle, "Workers denied jobs over latex allergy settle case", Bob Egelko, 17 March 2011