Discrimination on the basis of pregnancy violates Title VII of the Civil Right Act, one of the oldest employment laws protecting pregnant workers.
Dive Brief:
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based iPro Dental Laboratory will pay $5,000 in back pay and $25,000 in compensatory damages to settle allegations it fired a newly hired employee after learning she was pregnant, according to a consent decree filed April 3 in EEOC v. iPro Dental Laboratory, Inc.
- According to the complaint in the case, the worker left to attend an approved doctor’s appointment on her second day. The general manager allegedly noticed the appointment was with an OBGYN and asked if she was pregnant, and the worker confirmed she was. She was fired three days later.
- In addition to paying $30,000 to the worker, iPro agreed to appoint a third-party equal employment opportunity coordinator to attend multiple compliance training sessions, serve as a resource to iPro’s managers and HR personnel, assist with discrimination complaints and more, per the consent decree.
Dive Insight:
The case is one of many the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has pursued in the past few years as it has shined a spotlight on pregnancy discrimination in the wake of the newly enacted Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The law took effect in June 2023 and expanded pregnant workers’ rights in the workplace.
While the focus on pregnant workers has expanded with the PWFA, EEOC v. iPro Dental Laboratory leaned on much older...
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