The EEOC has reported all of the below actions in the past 60 days:
- PruittHealth-Raleigh, LLC, a Georgia corporation doing business as a nursing and rehabilitation center in Raleigh, violated federal law when it refused to accommodate the pregnancy-related work restriction of a certified nursing assistant and forced her to resign, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charged in a lawsuit. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, PruittHealth offered light duty or job modifications to accommodate the temporary restrictions of certified nursing assistants (CNAs) who were injured at work. However, the company refused to grant similar accommodations or modifications to a CNA who experienced a pregnancy-related work restriction. The EEOC says that in October 2016, the company refused to accommodate the pregnancy-related 20-pound lifting restriction of CNA Dominique Codrington. Instead, the company’s assistant director of nursing and a human resources representative forced Codrington to resign or be fired.
- Off the Air, II, Inc., which does business as Nick’s Sports Grill, a sports bar in Rowlett, Texas, will pay $24,000 and provide other relief to settle a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). According to the EEOC’s suit, the mandatory uniform at Nick’s Sports Grill consisted of a tight, body-hugging shirt and short hot pants. The suit alleges that when Taylor King, a bartender, started wearing capri pants instead of the usual hot pants uniform and added a second layer of clothes to the usual tight top because of her pregnancy, the general manager told her that the owner would not approve, and forced her off the job.
- Simplicity Ground Services, P.C., an airline-ramp and cargo-handling company in Detroit, violated federal law by forcing an employee onto unpaid leave because of her pregnancy, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleged in a lawsuit. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Raylynn Bishop was employed as a tow team driver for Simplicity Ground Services, a company responsible for transferring baggage on and off commercial flights at Detroit’s Metropolitan Airport. As a tow team driver, her job primarily consisted of driving a vehicle, and her job description contained no lifting requirement. The EEOC alleged that upon learning that Bishop was pregnant and had a 20-pound lifting restriction, Simplicity informed her she must go on unpaid leave and attempted to make her sign an amended job description which added a 70-pound lifting requirement. Simplicity also forced other pregnant employees to take unpaid leave because they were pregnant and refused to accommodate their pregnancy-related lifting restrictions with light-duty work. Non-pregnant employees with similar restrictions, however, were routinely granted light duty.
- A Martinez, Ga., location of a discount retail chain store headquartered in Chesapeake, Va., violated federal law by discriminating against one of its employees because of her pregnancy, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Dollar Tree assigned her tasks in violation of her pregnancy-related restrictions, denied her breaks, and scheduled her to work on days she had doctors’ appointments.
Employers should keep these in mind when dealing with pregnant employees.