The federal agency that enforces workplace anti-discrimination laws is suing an employer for allegedly failing to accommodate an employee’s known pregnancy-related limitations, the first-ever lawsuit filed under the new federal pregnancy protection law. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claims the employer violated the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), as well as federal civil rights law. Here’s what employers need to know about this groundbreaking lawsuit and eight steps you can take now to ensure compliance.

What Happened?

In a lawsuit filed on September 10, the EEOC claims that a national manufacturing company violated the PWFA by failing to make a pregnancy-related accommodation to an assembly line worker in Kentucky, even though the employer allegedly could have provided adjustments that are comparable to those offered to non-pregnant workers with similar limitations.

Here’s what the EEOC alleged in the complaint:

• Relevant tasks: The employee was a “front plate” assembler who installed wiring in trailers. This required her to bend over the tops of trailers.
• Concerns about impact: When the employee was seven-months pregnant, she told human resources representatives that bending over trailers was painful and raised concerns that constant pressure on her stomach would jeopardize her otherwise healthy pregnancy.
• Accommodation request: She asked to be moved from the front-plate position to another assembly-line position, to move to a light-duty position...

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