Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, EEOC NEWS—Employers allegedly failed to accommodate workers’ pregnancy-related medical conditions, life-threatening allergy, to protect against racial, sexual harassment, (Jul 23, 2026)

By Pamela Wolf, J.D.

“An employer cannot illegitimately deny an employee reasonable accommodations to a general attendance policy and then use the policy to fire her.”

In separate developments, the EEOC filed lawsuits against employers in South Dakota, Ohio, Kentucky, and Oklahoma, collectively raising claims of disability, pregnancy, race, and sex discrimination; sexual harassment; and retaliation. In one case, managers and supervisors allegedly demanded sexual favors from female workers for promotions and benefits.

Black female employee sexually and racially harassed. TNT Chicken, Inc., dba Slim Chickens, violated Title VII when it subjected an employee at one of the company’s Sioux Falls, South Dakota, locations to unlawful race and sex harassment and then retaliated against her for objecting to the harassment, according to a new lawsuit. Beginning in November 2023, one of the restaurant’s shift leads repeatedly harassed a new, black female employee through unwanted sexual comments, offensive comments about black women, racial slurs, and physical threats of violence, the EEOC said. The employee allegedly reported the conduct to management, but the company failed to stop the harassment and retaliated against her including by reducing her hours; she was forced to resign because the environment was intolerable.

The EEOC filed suit its lawsuit in the District of South Dakota; the case is No. 4:26-cv-4132.

Attendance policy used to fire pregnant worker with medical-related conditions. Step2 Company, LLC, violated the PWFA, ADA, and Title VII when the toy and plastic products manufacturer failed to provide reasonable accommodations to a pregnant employee with disabilities and fired her, the EEOC contended in a new suit. Step2 reportedly disciplined the assembly worker at the company’s Perrysville, Ohio, facility, under its attendance policy when she was absent because of pregnancy-related medical conditions and took approved leave for chronic mental health conditions. The company allegedly failed to accommodate her by excusing her pregnancy- and disability-related absences and also denied her requests to sit down briefly between assemblies, take more frequent breaks, and avoid working on highly physically strenuous assemblies because of her pregnancy or related medical conditions. Instead, Step2 retaliated against her for requesting accommodations, interfered with her ability to further seek reasonable accommodations, and then fired her in July 2024, the federal agency said.

“The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for an employee’s known limitations related to pregnancy and pregnancy-related medical conditions, and the Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities,” noted EEOC Regional Attorney Debra M. Lawrence. “An employer cannot illegitimately deny an employee reasonable accommodations to a general attendance policy and then use the policy to fire her.”

The EEOC brought its law suit in the Northern District of Ohio; the case is No. 1:26-cv-01562.

Female workers sexually harassed, quid pro quo, by managers, supervisors. The EEOC claimed in a lawsuit that Toyota Boshoku Jackson Tennessee, LLC, and Toyota Boshoku America, Inc., of Erlanger, Kentucky, violated Title VII by subjecting a class of female employees to a sexually hostile workplace. Purportedly since at least January 2021, local managers and supervisors for the auto parts manufacturer repeatedly demanded sexual favors from female workers for promotions and benefits while supervisory and nonsupervisory male employees physically and verbally harassed women in the workplace. The sexually harassing conduct caused some female workers to quit and the company retaliated against female workers who complained by firing them, according to the EEOC.

“Employers have a duty to protect their female workers, especially in workplaces like automotive production plants where women historically have found few inroads to employment and advancement,” said EEOC District Director Delner Franklin-Thomas. “By enacting strong policies and procedures to ensure women are free to pursue advancement based on their merits and that all complaints of sexual harassment are taken seriously and adequately investigated, employers can better fulfill their obligations under federal law to create a safe work environment free from harassment.”

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the Western District of Tennessee, Eastern Division; the case is No. 1:26-cv-01139.

Failed to accommodate life-threatening allergy. Paycom Payroll, LLC, violated the ADA when it failed to provide effective reasonable accommodations to an employee with a life-threatening food allergy and fired her instead, according to an EEOC lawsuit. Shortly after the Oklahoma company specializing in payroll and human capital software hired her, an employee with a severe allergy repeatedly suffered anaphylactic reactions from exposure to food brought in by coworkers. Although she promptly informed supervisors and HR of her condition and submitted medical documentation recommending she work in a secluded space or from home, Paycom allegedly provided only limited temporary workspace adjustments that failed to provide an effective accommodation. The company did not notify nearby employees to avoid bringing the allergen to the workspace and declined to allow her to work remotely despite having established policies permitting the practice. The employee continued to experience multiple allergic reactions—two required ambulance transport to the hospital—when exposed to food in nearby breakrooms and hallways, the EEOC said. The day after her most severe reaction in June 2024, the company terminated her, stating it could not accommodate her disability, the federal agency contended.

EEOC District Director David S. Davis said: “Federal law requires employers to engage in an interactive process and consider reasonable solutions. The EEOC will continue to enforce protections ensuring that individuals with disabilities are not excluded from the workplace because of unsupported assumptions or insufficient effort.”

The EEOC brought its lawsuit in the Western District of Oklahoma; the case is No. 5:26-cv-01622-R.

Companies: Slim Chickens; TNT Chicken, Inc.; Step2 Company, LLC; Toyota Boshoku Jackson Tennessee, LLC; Toyota Boshoku America Paycom; Payroll, LLC

News: AgencyNews Discharge Discrimination DisabilityDiscrimination PregnancyDiscrimination RaceDiscrimination SexDiscrimination SexualHarassment Retaliation