How did one employer not only violate the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, but also get called out by a federal judge for its “deplorable” conduct?
Actually, before we do that, let’s quickly flashback to Monday’s post.
That’s weird. Why didn’t Eric hyperlink “Monday’s post?” Well, I messed up and didn’t have a post on Monday, you happy? Of course not. So, to make it up to you guys yesterday, I decided to select a lucky reader on Friday to whom I would give my copy of O’Connor’s Federal Employment Codes Plus 2015-2016 edition.
If you want to try your luck, just email me by Friday, and I’ll select a winner at random.
Okay, back to the EEOC which, last week, announced (here) that it had obtained a $66,000 judgment against an Arizona whiskey bar. The EEOC alleged that the company terminated an employee because she was pregnant. At a court hearing, the EEOC provided an audiotape recording in which one of the company owners said, “There’s going to be a whole number of people that I would be offending by allowing a pregnant person to be behind the bar. They might look at it as the owner’s a f—ing idiot they’re letting a girl that’s pregnant that could get injured behind the bar bartending right now. How irresponsible are those guys?”
The Judge concluded that the employer’s “deplorable” conduct violated federal law by removing an employee from her duties because she was pregnant.
Folks, if you have a pregnant employee, don’t remove her from her job — even if you think it’s best for her or the unborn child. If the employee asks for an accommodation, then engage her in good faith to discuss some options. Otherwise, resist the urge to play doctor.
That’s pregnancy discrimination.