Federal Suits Charge Trucking Company and Assisted Living Facility with Pregnancy Discrimination

Strategic Insights -

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed two federal lawsuits against a trucking company and an assisted living facility, alleging that they discriminated against pregnant employees by failing to provide reasonable accommodations. The suits, filed in the Northern District of Illinois, claim that the employers forced the employees to take leave instead of allowing them to continue working with a 20-pound lifting restriction.

Key Takeaways:

  • The EEOC charged RandL Carriers, a trucking company in Matteson, Illinois, with discriminating against a pregnant truck driver by forcing her to take leave rather than allowing her to continue working.
  • The EEOC also charged Prairie Green at Fay's Point, an assisted living facility in Blue Island, Illinois, with terminating a pregnant employee after she disclosed her pregnancy and related lifting restriction.
  • The EEOC alleges that the employees' employers refused to engage in an interactive process to determine what reasonable accommodations were available, as required by the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA).
  • The PWFA bars employers from forcing employees to take leave when a reasonable accommodation could be made to allow them to continue working.
  • The EEOC seeks monetary damages for each employee, including compensatory and punitive damages, as well as injunctive relief to prevent similar unlawful conduct in the future.
  • The EEOC has jurisdiction over Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and North and South Dakota, with area offices in Milwaukee and Minneapolis.

Statistics:

  • 20 pounds: The lifting restriction requested by the employees in both lawsuits.
  • 2: The number of federal suits filed by the EEOC against RandL Carriers and Prairie Green at Fay's Point.
  • 25cv11121: The case number for the EEOC's lawsuit against RandL Carriers.
  • 25cv11111: The case number for the EEOC's lawsuit against Prairie Green at Fay's Point.
  • 2: The number of employees allegedly discriminated against by the employers.
  • 1: The number of area offices of the EEOC in the region.

Sources:

  • U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois