Pregnancy Discrimination against Employees and Caregivers Still Tops EEOC’s List

In Tennessee as well as all over the United States, employees should be able to expect fair and equal treatment at their workplace. Unfortunately, however, many employees are discriminated against because of their gender, age, disability, sexual orientation and even now for whether or not they are a pregnant employee. If you or someone you work with has been discriminated against for being pregnant or for any other reason, then it is important that you speak to a Tennessee employment discrimination lawyer right away.

According to recent reports, experts informed the EEOC at a public meeting that “at a time when most pregnant women want and need to work, and more American workers struggle to balance work and family, discrimination against pregnant women and workers with care giving responsibilities remains a significant problem.” Following the testimony of ten panel members, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released a statement announcing that the Commission was “committed to ensuring that job applicants and employees are not subjected to unlawful discrimination on account of pregnancy or because of their efforts to balance work and family responsibilities.”

After the public meeting, the EEOC has filed a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit against James E. Brown and Associates and has participated in three settlements with employers over claims of pregnancy discrimination. The settlements involve one case where a medical staffing agency has agreed to pay $148,000 to settle a claim of pregnancy discrimination, another case involving a $30,000 payment made by a hair salon and a final case involving a $140,000 payment made by a agricultural products supplier. This focus on pregnancy discrimination and caregiver discrimination by the EEOC is intended for employers to notice that these claims are being taken very seriously.

Unfortunately, workplace discrimination happens all too often to employees all across the country and even to Tennessee employees. If you or someone you know feel that you have been discriminated against at your work for being pregnant or for any other reason, then we recommend that you contact one of our experienced and compassionate Tennessee employment attorneys immediately, We care about our clients and will work with you to make sure you get the compensation you are entitled to by law.