100,000 reasons to accommodate an employee after she experiences a stillbirth (and not fire her four days later)

About two weeks ago, I spotlighted an EEOC lawsuit where the agency claimed an employer fired a woman four days after she experienced a stillbirth and one day after submitting a confirming letter from her doctor, which also recommended six weeks to recuperate physically and grieve.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which took effect last year, requires an employer to accommodate known limitations related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions unless doing so will result in an undue hardship. The EEOC’s position is that “related medical conditions” are medical conditions relating to the pregnancy or childbirth of the specific employee in question and include termination of pregnancy, including via miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion.

As I noted in my earlier post, it sounds like the employer violated the PWFA because:

1. the employee suffered from a known limitation that was related to, affected by, or arose out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition (i.e., stillbirth),
2. she asked for time off to recover (which the EEOC notes is an example of a reasonable accommodation),
3. she could perform the essential functions of her job with that accommodation without causing the employer any undue hardship, and
4. the employer failed to provide it.

The employer also faced a fairly strong Americans with Disabilities Act claim. According to the EEOC, the employee suffered a pregnancy-related disability (depression), and rather than explore a possible reasonable accommodation, the employer fired her instead.

Now, I’m not saying that the employer violated the ADA or the PWFA. I’m not saying that at all.

But I am saying that it paid $100,000 to avoid finding out. That’s part of a settlement the EEOC announced last Friday.

As part of the three-year consent decree, the company also agreed to appoint an EEO coordinator, revise its employment policies to ensure reasonable accommodations under the PWFA and ADA, provide training to all its employees, and report any complaints of discrimination to the EEOC.

In its press release, the EEOC underscored how “[t]his litigation highlights the need to provide equal opportunities and accommodations for pregnant and disabled employees, as well as the necessity of training managers on how to properly handle PWFA or ADA related matters in the workplace.”

The EEOC also provided resources for employees, employers, and healthcare providers, available at: https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-pregnant-workers-fairness-act.

If you’re looking for robust training for human resources and managers on the contours of the PWFA and its interplay with the ADA, give me a holler. I know a guy who can help.