Pediatrics 2000, a Manhattan private medical practice serving children and teens, has agreed to pay $68,000 and take substantial non-monetary action to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit filed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Pediatrics 2000 was aware that its worker was a Jehovah’s Witness when she was hired and initially accommodated her request not to work on Wednesdays due to her religious practices on that day. But then the company demonstrated animus toward her religion, saying that her religion was a “cult,” and placed her on probation for “missing” work on Wednesdays. When the worker requested to be excused from the company’s holiday party for religious reasons, she was fired — even though other employees were permitted to miss the party for non-religious reasons.
Such conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which protects employees from discrimination because of their religious beliefs in the workplace. On June 30, 2020, US District Court Judge Edgardo Ramos entered a four-year consent decree to resolve the case. The decree gives $68,000 in lost wages and other damages for the worker and grants injunctive relief, including: the creation of anti-discrimination policies and procedures that commit Pediatrics 2000 to provide equal opportunity in all aspects of employment, including religious beliefs; the appointment of equal employment opportunity coordinators to investigate and resolve discrimination complaints; training for both management and employees about their rights and obligations under Title VII; an employment reference for the employee; and periodic reporting to the EEOC.
