A category grievance alleging that U.S. Customs and Border Safety — an company of the Division of Homeland Safety — discriminated towards pregnant staff might proceed, the U.S. Equal Employment Alternative Fee stated in an Aug. 30 determination.
The grievance stems from 2016, when an agriculture specialist at CBP’s El Paso, Texas, subject workplace filed particular person and sophistication complaints alleging discrimination. The worker claimed administration refused to return her to her place and maintained a hostile work surroundings after she turned pregnant.
In a single occasion, the worker alleged she was required to acquire a health care provider’s notice stating that she wanted to be positioned on mild responsibility. In one other, she alleged she was positioned on an in a single day shift and required to work greater than 40 hours per week towards her medical restrictions.
A second member of the category, who held a CBP officer place, joined the grievance in 2022. The category alleged CBP eliminated pregnant staff from their work assignments and reassigned them as a result of they have been pregnant with out assessing whether or not they might proceed to carry out the important capabilities of their prior roles, with or with out an lodging.
Later, an EEOC administrative legislation choose discovered that the staff “submitted probative proof” that CBP “subjected pregnant staff to a coverage that distinguished being pregnant from different short-term impairments and involuntarily positioned them on momentary mild responsibility primarily based on being pregnant, with out regard to whether or not they might carry out the important capabilities of their positions.”
The choose issued a call to certify the category in April, and CBP appealed.
EEOC held that the choose accurately decided that the category of staff met the numerosity, commonality and typicality necessities for sophistication certification. It remanded the category grievance for additional processing.
The Being pregnant Discrimination Act prohibits discrimination towards staff on the idea of being pregnant or associated medical situations, together with makes an attempt to offer such staff lesser assignments as a result of they’re pregnant, in line with EEOC steering.
Moreover, the Pregnant Staff Equity Act, handed by Congress in 2022, requires lined employers to offer cheap lodging to staff who’ve limitations associated to being pregnant, childbirth or associated medical situations until such lodging would pose an undue hardship.
