EEOC Pregnant Workers Discrimination


On Sep. 26, EEOC sued two employers for pregnancy discrimination.


  • EEOC sued employers Polaris Industries and Urologic Specialists of Oklahoma.
  • For failure to accommodate employees as required by the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) (42 USC 21G) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (42 USC 12101).
  • EEOC v. Polaris
  • Polaris refused to excuse employee's absence for pregnancy-related conditions and medical appointments, and required her to work mandatory overtime.
  • Overtime was required despite company knowing that her physician had restricted her from working over forty hours per week during the course of her pregnancy.
  • Because of her pregnancy-related absences, Polaris assessed attendance points against her warning she would be terminated if she acquired another such point.
  • As a result, the employee resigned to avoid termination and protect her pregnancy.
  • EEOC v. Urologic Specialists
  • Employer did not allow medical assistant to sit, take breaks, or work part-time as her physician said was needed during the final trimester of her high-risk pregnancy.
  • Forced her to take unpaid leave, refused to guarantee breaks to express breastmilk.
  • When she would not return to work without guaranteed breaks, USO terminated her.
  • Violations
  • Conduct violated PWFA, which requires firms to provide reasonable accommodations for employees who are pregnant, recently gave birth, or have related medical issues.
  • Urologic also violated ADA for no reasonable accommodations to disabled employee.

Regulators EEOC
Entity Types CNSM; Corp
Reference PR, 9/26/2024; Citation: *42 USC* 21G, 12101;
Functions Complaints; Compliance; HR; Legal; Record Retention
Countries United States of America
Category National Regulator
State
Products Corporate
Regions Am
Rule Type Enforcement
Rule Date 9/26/2024
Effective Date 9/26/2024
Rule Id 227557
Linked to N/A
Reg. Last Update 9/26/2024
Report Section AML & Enforcement

Last substantive update on 10/01/2024