Three Los Angeles assisted living facilities with a mostly Korean clientele turned away non-Koreans who inquired about moving in there, with workers stating that only Koreans would be accepted, according to a federal lawsuit filed by the Fair Housing Federation of Southern California and two Black plaintiffs.
The federation, a nonprofit that seeks to eliminate housing discrimination, employed 10 “testers” who posed as family members of senior citizens interested in living in one of the facilities — Sunny Hills Assisted Living in Pico-Robertson, Garden Silver Town in Koreatown and Mugunghwa Silvertown just south of Koreatown.
The assisted living facilities told the seven non-Korean testers that they only accepted Koreans, according to the lawsuit. The three Korean testers sent to the facilities moved further along in the admissions process, were given a tour and allowed to submit the prospective resident’s medical records, the lawsuit said.