Maternity Retailer Settles Pregnancy Discrimination Suit

by Tula Connell, Jan 9, 2007

Those of us who read the BNA’s Daily Labor Report (DLR) every day get basic facts about recent court settlements involving workers and their employers, contract negotiations and a lot of complex info on pension rules. 

Occasionally, we run across an item involving employer behavior so egregious and/or bizarre, it can’t be true. But it is. 

Such is the case today, with the DLR (subscription required) reporting that a Philadelphia-based maternity apparel retailer settled a $375,000 federal lawsuit alleging it refused to hire qualified female applicants because they were, well, pregnant. 

From DLR: 

In a consent judgment approved by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Mothers Work Inc. agrees to pay plaintiff LaShonda Burns $135,000 in compensatory and punitive damages, $50,000 in back pay, and $130,000 for her private attorney’s fees and costs, the EEOC’s [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's] Miami office said in a written statement. 

The pregnancy and retaliation lawsuit—brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act—stemmed from Burns’s 2004 firing as an assistant manager at a Motherhood retail store in St. Augustine after she allegedly complained of discrimination against pregnant applicants, according to the lawsuit. Burns, herself pregnant, said the company would not hire applicants for sales positions who were “visibly pregnant” or who it learned were pregnant through job interview questions, the lawsuit says. 

Rebecca Matthias, president of Mothers Work, who told BNA the obvious—“Our business revolves around serving pregnant women”—went on to say:

It is extremely disturbing to me that someone had even the perception we somehow discriminated.

And to make sure it doesn’t happen again:

Mothers Work will go beyond the terms of the settlement in training and other areas, Matthias added. Among the steps will be creating a fair employment auditing system and using “secret applicants” to detect potential discrimination, Matthias said. 

 

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