EEOC Sues Greystar Management Services For Pregnancy Discrimination

Housekeeper Fired Because of Her Pregnancy, Federal Agency Says

A Rockville, Md., apartment complex violated  federal law when it fired a housekeeper soon after she disclosed that she was  pregnant, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a  lawsuit it announced yesterday.

The EEOC  charges that after a housekeeper, Amada Lucero, informed Greystar Management  Services, L.P., that she was pregnant, the company required her to bring in  medical documentation confirming that she was pregnant and clearing her to work  with cleaning chemicals. Even though  Lucero had been performing the job satisfactorily, and was medically cleared to  perform her regular job duties without restrictions, Greystar abruptly fired  her because of her pregnancy, the EEOC contends in its lawsuit, filed in U.S.  District Court of the District of Maryland, Civil Action No. 1:11-cv-02789.

Title VII of the 1964 Civil  Rights Act, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, prohibits  discrimination based on sex, including pregnancy. The EEOC first attempted to reach a pre-litigation  settlement before filing suit. In its  lawsuit, the EEOC seeks injunctive relief prohibiting discriminatory  employment practices based on sex or pregnancy, as well as lost wages, compensatory  and punitive damages and other affirmative relief for Lucero.

"Pregnancy discrimination charges  nationwide increased almost 25 percent in the last five years, and such a  dramatic increase unfortunately illustrates that too many employers are  ignoring their legal obligation not to discriminate against pregnant workers," said  Spencer H. Lewis, Jr., district director of the EEOC's Philadelphia  District Office, which oversees Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, West  Virginia, and parts of New Jersey and Ohio.

EEOC Regional Attorney Debra  M. Lawrence added, "This lawsuit  should educate all employers that they must treat pregnant employees as they do  other employees with short-term medical conditions. If an employer illegally fires a woman  because of her pregnancy, the EEOC will take vigorous action to vindicate her  right to earn a living and to support herself and her family."

The  EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is  available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov .