Go deeper - join us!
Gracious Bakery, a popular New Orleans bakery, finds itself in hot water with the EEOC after it fired a pregnant employee. The EEOC filed a discrimination lawsuit earlier this month when it couldn’t reach a pre-litigation settlement. The EEOC contends that the bakery owners violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for discriminating against an employee for a pregnancy-related condition.
Employee’s reliability called into question
According to the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, the pregnant worker missed two shifts after seeking emergency medical treatment for a complication related to her pregnancy. She returned to work two days later and performed satisfactorily, but her managers still fired her, stating that her pregnancy complications made her unreliable.
Employee alleged to violate federal law
The EEOC alleges that this behavior of the managers violated Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act, both of which prohibit discrimination for pregnancy or related conditions. Rudy Sustaita, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Houston District Office. “An employer who acts on harmful stereotypes about a pregnant worker’s reliability violates the law.” Pregnant workers have many federal and state protections so that they can continue to work, even though they may need some accommodations.
The takeaway for employers
Pregnant employees have rights under severaldifferent federal laws, Title VII, the ADA, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which just went into effect in June 2023. Some states have even more protections for pregnant workers and parents. Employers should review their own policies and procedures for dealing with employees who are pregnant or have children to ensure that all laws are considered when handling requests for accommodations or making hiring/firing decisions.
Get more information about pregnancy discrimination from the EEOC on their website.
