EEOC Sues Two Businesses Operating in the Chicago Area Under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

CHICAGO – The Chicago District Office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed two pregnancy discrimination lawsuits today, charging two different employers with violations of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). 

The EEOC charged that North American freight shipping company R&L Carriers’, Matteson, Illinois location discriminated against a truck driver when it forced her to take leave rather than let her continue to work during her pregnancy. 

In a second lawsuit, the EEOC alleged that Prairie Green at Fay’s Point, an assisted living facility in Blue Island, Illinois, terminated a pregnant employee after she disclosed her pregnancy and related lifting restriction. 

In both lawsuits, the EEOC charged that the employees informed their employers of their pregnancy and requested an accommodation for a 20-pound lifting restriction. Accommodating the restriction would have allowed the employees to continue to work, the EEOC said, but their employers refused. 

“Under the PWFA, employers must engage in an interactive process to determine what reasonable accommodations are available for employees with pregnancy-related limitations,” said Victor Chen, an EEOC spokesperson. “The law also specifically bars employers from forcing employees to take leave when the employer could have offered another reasonable accommodation that would allow them to keep working. It was designed to prevent what happened here: pregnant workers being pushed out of the workforce. Filing these cases on the same day underscores the wide range of jobs held by pregnant workers and highlights this relatively new federal law designed to protect them.” 

Such alleged conduct violates the PWFA, which requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy related restrictions, unless it would cause an undue hardship for the business. The EEOC filed suit against R&L Carriers (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. R&L Carriers Shared Services, LLC, 25cv11121) and Prairie Green at Fay’s Point (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Blue Island SLF, LLC d/b/a Prairie Green at Fay’s Point, 25cv11111) in U.S. District for the Northern District of Illinois after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process. 

The EEOC seeks monetary damages for each employee, including compensatory and punitive damages, and injunctive relief against the employer to prevent similar unlawful conduct in the future. 

The EEOC’s Chicago District Office has jurisdiction over Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and North and South Dakota, with area offices in Milwaukee and Minneapolis.