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The Great EEOC Roundup: June Edition


As always, there are some recent EEOC cases that jump out at me when I review recent developments on that front.  Below are a couple EEOC cases and settlements that stand out:


United Bible Settles Pregnancy Discrimination Suit for $75,000.00

Recently, a federal judge awarded a pregnancy discrimination victim approximately $75,000.00 in back pay and damages.  The case arose out of a claim that United Bible violated federal law by enforcing an unlawful "no pregnancy in the workplace" policy which prohibited the continued employment of any employee who became pregnant...(yes, really...).  Under the policy, any pregnant applicant who sought a resource technician position was refused the position.  

United Bible apparently fired Sharmira Johnson, a resource technician who provided care to residents, once she became pregnant.  Even though United Bible argued the termination was lawful because it was done to ensure Johnson's safety, as well as the safety of her unborn child, this conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 




A few weeks ago, it was announced that United Airlines agreed to pay more than $1 million and implement changes as a result of a disability lawsuit filed by the EEOC.  United's competitive transfer policy allegedly violated the Americans With Disabilities Act ("ADA") on the grounds that it prevented employees with disabilities from continuing employment with United as these workers had to compete for vacant positions (often without being offered a reasonable accommodation).  


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