Century Care of Laurinburg, Inc. d/b/a Scottish Pines Rehabilitation & Nursing Center (Scottish Pines), a North Carolina company based in Cary, has agreed to pay $30,000 and furnish other relief to settle a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Scottish Pines offered transitional duty or other job modifications to accommodate restrictions of employees with work-related injuries or illnesses, but not to employees with pregnancy-related restrictions. EEOC alleged that the company refused to accommodate the pregnancy-related 50-pound lifting restriction of certified nursing assistant Mary Jacobs, but instead placed her on unpaid leave and terminated her employment when she could not return to work without restrictions. EEOC further alleged that the company refused to accommodate a 20-pound lifting restriction of another pregnant certified nursing assistant, Laketa Watts, and also terminated her employment when she could not return to work without restrictions. In addition to providing monetary relief to Jacobs and Watts, Scottish Pines entered a 30-month consent decree, which requires it to, among other things, adopt and implement a written policy to treat women affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions the same as non-pregnant persons similar in their ability or inability to work, including providing modified duty. The decree further requires the company to conduct training on pregnancy discrimination for its employees, post EEO notices, and provide periodic reports to the EEOC.
