EEOC Settles Pregnancy Discrimination Lawsuit With Maternity Company
According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") a Philadelphia-based maternity clothes retailer will pay $375,000 to settle a pregnancy discrimination and retaliation lawsuit brought by the EEOC, alleging that Mothers Work, Inc., doing business as Motherhood Maternity, refused to hire qualified female applicants because they were pregnant.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit (Case No. 3:05-CV-990-J-32TEM in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville Division), LaShonda Burns, a former assistant manager, complained about Motherhood’s policy and practice of discrimination against pregnant applicants. The EEOC said Motherhood illegally disciplined and ultimately fired Burns because it believed she was pregnant and in retaliation for her complaints.
Such alleged conduct violates the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement, and Burns also took part in the suit with a private attorney.
The three-year consent decree settling the suit requires Motherhood to pay Ms. Burns $135,000 in compensatory and punitive damages; $50,000 in back pay; $130,000 for Burns’s private attorney’s fees and costs; and $20,000 in compensatory and punitive damages to each of three women who were denied employment opportunities because they were pregnant – Lakevia Rollins, Aimee Tart and Jackie Ciardiello. Motherhood must also adopt and distribute an anti-discrimination policy that specifically prohibits denying women employment opportunities because of their pregnancy; train all of its Florida current and future employees on the new policy and federal employment discrimination laws; post a notice of resolution of the lawsuit; and report to EEOC twice annually regarding pregnancy discrimination complaints.
Please see http://www.eeoc.gov/press/1-8-07.html for the full story.
