EEOC's Recent Enforcement of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: What Employers Need to Know
Real World Impact: A recent Consent Decree between the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Lago Mar Properties stands as an important reminder that the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) is broad in scope and encompasses all facets of pregnancy. Background: In EEOC v. Lago Mar Properties, Inc. , the EEOC alleged Lago Mar violated both the PWFA and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it terminated an employee shortly after she requested leave to recover from a stillbirth. The parties entered into a three-year Consent Decree. The Consent Decree requires Lago Mar to pay $100,000 in damages to the former employee, appoint an EEO coordinator, revise its employment policies to ensure employees are provided reasonable accommodations under the PWFA and ADA, and provide training to all its employees, as well as report any complaints of discrimination to the EEOC. The EEOC is aggressively enforcing the PWFA and has filed many lawsuits alleging ...