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Employee Unlawfully Fired Because Of Pregnancy EEOC Discrimination Lawsuit Claims

Young pregnant woman in suit at workplace, closeup. Space for text

For more than twenty years, our Marion County, Florida unlawful termination attorneys have fought for the rights of Florida employees who have been discriminated against because of pregnancy. Through their extensive experience representing pregnancy discrimination victims, our Ocala, Florida unlawful termination lawyers know that pregnant employees are often denied privileges afforded to non-pregnant employees. In far too many cases, an employer’s refusal to provide a pregnant employee with the same privileges afforded to non-pregnant employees culminates in the pregnant employee’s termination. In this article, our Marion County, Florida unlawful termination attorneys explain how a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit recently filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) demonstrates that employers are required by federal employment discrimination law to treat pregnant employees the same as non-pregnant employees.

Pregnancy Discrimination Lawsuit

In a press release issued on September 29, 2021, the EEOC announced that it has filed a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit against A.V.I. Sea Bar & Chophouse, LLC (AVI). On September 29, 2021, the EEOC filed the pregnancy discrimination lawsuit, United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. v. A.V.I. Sea Bar & Chophouse, LLC, Case No. 2:21-cv-2428, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas. The EEOC has filed the pregnancy discrimination lawsuit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), on behalf of a former employee of AVI, a woman named Hoffman. The EEOC claims that AVI violated the PDA by firing Hoffman because of pregnancy.

Pregnant Employees’ Rights

The PDA prohibits employers from discriminating against women on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. In prohibiting pregnancy discrimination, the PDA mandates that employers to treat women affected by a pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions the same as non-pregnant employees who are similar in their ability or inability to work. This means that employers are required by the PDA to treat pregnant employees the same as non-pregnant employees.

An employer’s obligation under the PDA to treat women affected by a pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions the same as non-pregnant employees also mean that if an employer provides a non-pregnant employee with an accommodation, the employer must provide pregnant employees with the same type of accommodation. If an employer refuses to provide a pregnant employee with the same type of accommodation afforded to non-pregnant employees, the employer has unlawfully discriminated against the pregnant employee in violation of the PDA.

Worker Claims Fired Because Of Pregnancy

AVI owns and operates a restaurant in Wichita, Kansas. In December 2018, AVI hired Hoffman as a hostess. When Hoffman applied for the job with AVI, she was pregnant. AVI learned of Hoffman’s pregnancy when she began working for AVI on December 18, 2018. As her pregnancy progressed, Hoffman experienced pregnancy-related health issues, including foot swelling and back pain. In early January 2019, Hoffman asked the restaurant manager if she could use a stool as needed because of pregnancy-related swollen feet and back pain. The manager approved Hoffman’s request.

In late January 2019, a co-owner of AVI visited the restaurant and observed Hoffman’s use of the stool. The co-owner commented that Hoffman’s use of a stool at the hostess stand “didn’t look good.” After the co-owners comment, AVI no longer allowed Hoffman to use a stool as needed to alleviate her pregnancy-related swollen feet and back pain.

On February 1, 2019, Hoffman provided AVI with a doctor’s note requesting that AVI allow Hoffman “to have a stool at the hostess stand if possible due to swelling and back pain during pregnancy.” Upon receiving the doctor’s note, AVI still refused to allow Hoffman to use a stool. Instead, AVI terminated Hoffman’s employment.

Lawyers For Unlawful Termination Victims

The EEOC is the administrative agency of the United States government responsible for administering, interpreting, and enforcing federal employment discrimination law. In order to protect employee rights and punish employers who violate federal employment discrimination law, the EEOC brings lawsuits in federal court on behalf of employment discrimination victims, including pregnancy discrimination victims.

In a press release issued on September 29, 2021, regarding the case, a regional attorney for the EEOC’s St. Louis District Office, Andrea G. Baran, explained that “in 1978, Congress passed the Pregnancy Discrimination Act to amend Title VII and clarify that unlawful sex discrimination includes discrimination based on pregnancy and related medical conditions.” “More than 40 years later,” Ms. Baran observed, “pregnant workers experience discrimination on the job far too often as they seek to provide for themselves and their growing families.”

Ocala, FL Unlawful Termination Lawyers

Based in Ocala, Florida, and representing workers throughout Central Florida, our Marion County, Florida unlawful termination attorneys have litigated pregnancy discrimination cases in Florida courts for more than two decades. If you have been discriminated against because of pregnancy or have questions about your protection against pregnancy discrimination under federal employment discrimination law, please contact our office for a free consultation with our Ocala, Florida unlawful termination lawyers. Our employee rights law firm takes unlawful termination cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that there are no attorney’s fees incurred unless there is a recovery and our attorney’s fees come solely from the monetary award that you recover.

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