Rooms to Go Sued by EEOC for Pregnancy Discrimination

Furniture Company Fired Employee After She Disclosed She Was Pregnant, Federal Agency Charges

RALEIGH, N.C. - RTG Furniture Corp. of Georgia, a Florida corporation that operates a chain of Rooms to Go furniture stores and distributions centers nationwide, violated federal law when it fired an employee because she was pregnant, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed today.

Read more here.

Shefa Wellness Center to Pay $37,000 to Settle EEOC Pregnancy Discrimination Suit

Company Violated Law by Firing Pregnant Employee, Federal Agency Charged

ATLANTA - CFS Health Management Inc., dba Shefa Wellness Center, a Canton, Ga., medical practice specializing in cosmetic skin care treatments, will pay $37,000 to settle a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

Read the press release here.

Best practices for accommodating pregnant and postpartum employees

Stinson Leonard Street LLP, Lexology

On March 25, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Young v. United Parcel Service. This case addressed the extent to which employers must accommodate pregnant workers under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA). The Court held that an employer's accommodations policy must not "impose a significant burden on pregnant workers" unless the employer has legitimate and non-discriminatory reasons for implementation of the policy that are "sufficiently strong to justify the burden." (Read our prior alert on this case.) Lower courts have just begun to grapple with how to apply this standard in a meaningful way. In addition to remaining compliant with the PDA, employers need to navigate a web of overlapping laws addressing pregnancy-related and postpartum discrimination and accommodation issues. This article provides a road map for this area.

Read the story here.

Related content:

• New York State clarifies rights of working mothers (Jackson Lewis PC)

Surrogate mother's discrimination claims move forward against employer

Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP, Lexology

A California federal court judge refused to dismiss a surrogate mother's claims that she was not provided with accommodations in violation of the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act and California's Fair Employment and Housing Act, moving the case forward. Mary Gonzales sued Marriott International earlier this year alleging that the hotel chain discriminated against her for being a surrogate mother, demonstrated by the fact that she was only permitted to take lactation breaks for a few weeks before being told she had to use her lunch break to pump—while other lactating women were granted breaks—because she wasn't feeding a child at home.

Read the story here.

Taqueria Rodeo de Jalisco Sued by EEOC for Pregnancy Discrimination

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
PRESS RELEASE
9-22-11

Mexican Restaurant Violated Federal Law By Requiring Expectant Mothers To Stop Working, Federal Agency Charged

HOUSTON – Taqueria Rodeo de Jalisco, a Houston-based Mexican restaurant, violated federal anti-discrimination laws when its manager told pregnant employees they had to stop working in their last trimester of pregnancy, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged discrimination lawsuit filed today.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the restaurant manager told bus person Blanca Esparza that she could not work beyond the seventh month of pregnancy despite the fact that Esparza never complained that she was unable to carry out her duties and her doctor never put any restrictions on her ability to work. Similarly, the manager told a pregnant waitress that she too could not work past the seventh month of her pregnancy. The manager admitted to EEOC investigators that he asked the women to resign, but said it was to look out for their best interests and protect them and their fetuses from injury.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex or pregnancy. The EEOC filed suit (Civil Action No., 4:11-cv-03444) in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement. The EEOC seeks an injunction, back pay with pre-judgment interest, reinstatement or front pay, compensatory damages and punitive damages, in amounts to be determined at trial.
“Federal law protects the right of a woman to remain gainfully employed during her pregnancy,” said Jim Sacher, EEOC regional attorney in Houston. “The Supreme Court has made clear that the decision whether a pregnant woman should work rests with her. She alone, and not the employer, is responsible for making decisions that affect her safety and that of her child.”
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on the agency’s web site at www.eeoc.gov.

EEOC AND NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP FOR WOMEN & FAMILIES TO COMMEMORATE PREGNANCY ACT

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
October 24, 2008

WASHINGTON – Naomi C. Earp, Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), today announced the federal agency will hold a symposium with the National Partnership for Women and Families to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) on Wednesday, Oct. 29 at 9 a.m. The event will be held at the headquarters of the National Education Association (NEA) at 1201 16th St., NW.

The keynote address on the history of the PDA will be presented by Wendy Williams, a law professor at Georgetown University. Professor Williams is well known for her work in the area of gender and law, especially concerning issues of work and family, and is the co-author of a recent casebook on gender and law. She helped draft and testified before Congressional committees on the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 and the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. Her address will be followed by two moderated panel discussions:
Panel I – “Pregnancy Discrimination Today”Kevin Russell, ModeratorPartner, Howe & Russell, P.C.; instructor, Stanford University Law School, SupremeCourt Litigation Clinic, and the Harvard Law School Supreme Court Litigation Clinic
“Current PDA Litigation”Elizabeth GrossmanRegional Attorney, New York District Office, EEOC
“Statistical Analysis of Pregnancy Discrimination Charges”Jocelyn FryeGeneral Counsel, National Partnership for Women & Families
“Stereotypes of Pregnant Women/Use of Testers in the PDA”Eden KingProfessor, George Mason University
Panel II – “Future Issues in Pregnancy Discrimination”Carolyn Wheeler, ModeratorAssistant General Counsel, Appellate Services DivisionOffice of General Counsel, EEOC
“The Face to the Case – Victims of Pregnancy Discrimination”Melvina FordExecutive Director, D.C. Employment Justice Center
“Caregiving Discrimination”Cynthia CalvertCo-Director, Project on Attorney Retention, Deputy Director & General Counsel of WorkLifeLaw at the University of California Hastings College of the Law, and solo practitioner inMaryland counseling small businesses.
“Work-Life Family Balance”Donna KleinCEO, Corporate Voices for Working Families, a national business membership organizationrepresenting the private sector on public policy issues involving working families.
“Future Legal Issues”Jocelyn SamuelsVice President, Educational and Employment OpportunitiesNational Women’s Law Center
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Additional information about the Commission is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.
Founded in 1971, the National Partnership for Women & Families is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that uses public education and advocacy to promote fairness in the workplace, quality health care, and policies that help women and men meet the dual demands of work and family. www.eeoc.gov