An Orlando, Florida, based emergency medical services (EMS) corporation has agreed to pay $55,000 to settle a pregnancy and disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The defendant companies are charged with denying accommodations to a pregnant emergency medical technician (EMT).
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibit discrimination based on an employee’s sex, including pregnancy, or an employee’s disability, including pregnancy-related disabilities.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the EMS companies violated federal law when they refused to provide a pregnant EMT with a pregnancy-related disability with a reasonable accommodation, even though such accommodations were provided to other employees similar in their ability or inability to work.
In addition to paying the $55,000 in monetary relief, the defendant companies will adopt a policy making pregnant employees who are unable to work at their position due to medical restrictions based on their pregnancy eligible for a light duty position at the Orlando facility. The companies will also provide training on Title VII and the ADA to human resources personnel, managers, and employees, and report to the EEOC on future discrimination complaints related to an employee’s sex or disability. In addition, the EEOC can conduct interviews of the defendants’ employees and request documents to ensure compliance with the decree.
The EEOC Miami District Director Paul Valenti stated, “Employers must recognize that certain pregnancy-related conditions may rise to the level of disabilities covered by the ADA, which require a reasonable accommodation. Pregnant employees may therefore be protected by both the ADA and Title VII, and employers and human resources personnel should keep this in mind when evaluating requests from pregnant employees.”
The EEOC Miami Regional Attorney Robert Weinsberg stated, “When employers provide light duty positions to employees unable to work at their position because of medical restrictions, but refuse to provide those accommodations to pregnant employees similarly unable to work at their present position, they violate federal law. The EEOC is pleased that, going forward, pregnant employees with lifting restrictions will be afforded the same opportunity to work at a light duty position as other employees.”
The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Additional information can be found at their website here.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
Workplace discrimination can be defined as treating a person unequally based on his or her race, gender, ethnicity, age, religion, or disability. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 mandates that no person employed by, or seeking employment with, an entity can be discriminated against based on race, gender, ethnicity, age, religion, or disability, which can include pregnancy. While federal law prohibits discrimination in the workplace, most states have enacted their own laws regarding workplace discrimination, so be sure to know your own state’s laws. Each facility should have a zero-tolerance policy for anyone who retaliates against a person for bringing an issue to the facility’s attention. Additional information is available in the Med-Net Corporate Compliance and Ethics Manual Chapter 1: Compliance and Ethics Program.
Discussion Points
- Review your policies and procedures on prevention of discrimination and retaliation in the workplace. Update policies as needed.
- Train all staff on prevention of discrimination and retaliation and what they should do if they suspect they have been a victim of discrimination or retaliation or observe it occurring to others in the workplace. Provide education about your non-discrimination and non-retaliation policies and reporting options, including the anonymous hotline. Document that the trainings occurred and file the signed documentation in each employee’s education file.
- Periodically conduct audits with staff to ensure they can define discrimination and retaliation in the workplace and are aware of the steps they should take if they have concern that they or a coworker may be a victim of discrimination or retaliation.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS TOPIC VIEW: KEY INFORMATION FOR COMPLIANCE WITH THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) and PREGNANT EMPLOYEE RIGHTS.
