Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, EEOC NEWS—New lawsuit, $40K settlement in pregnancy discrimination cases; sex discrimination claimants sought, (Apr 9, 2025)
Organizations Mentioned:Battleground Restaurant Group, Inc. | Battleground Restaurants, Inc. | Kickback Jack’s | Kurt Bluemel, Inc. | Support Center for Child Advocates
By Jonathan Anderson
One woman with a high-risk pregnancy was denied an accommodation; another woman was told there was no work available after returning from maternity leave.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced a new lawsuit and a settlement in two separate cases alleging pregnancy discrimination. The agency sued a Pennsylvania employer because it denied an accommodation sought by an employee who was experiencing a high-risk pregnancy. In an unrelated matter, the agency recovered $40,000 in a settlement with a Maryland company after an employee returned from maternity leave and was told there was no work available. The two cases involved claims under Title VII, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), and/or the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). In addition, the EEOC sought claimants in a sex discrimination lawsuit against a restaurant with locations in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
Pregnancy discrimination lawsuit. Support Center for Child Advocates (SCCA), a Philadelphia provider of legal assistance and social services to juveniles, illegally denied an employee with a high-risk pregnancy an accommodation to work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a lawsuit filed by the EEOC. The complaint alleges that the employer violated Title VII and the PDA, which prohibit discrimination based on sex, pregnancy, or pregnancy-related conditions. According to the lawsuit, the employee, a social worker, sought to limit her exposure to COVID-19 by working at her home except for client visits and court appointments. SCCA granted this same accommodation to her non-pregnant co-worker, the agency alleges. Due to the threat to her health, the social worker was forced to resign.
The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; the case is No. 2:25-cv-00310.
Pregnancy discrimination settlement. Maryland plant nursery Kurt Bluemel, Inc. will pay $40,000 and furnish other relief to settle a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC. The agency alleged that the employer violated the PWFA and Title VII, as amended by the PDA, which prohibit discrimination based on pregnancy. According to the complaint, a pregnant worker who had been employed by the company since 2017 requested maternity leave in September 2023, with the expectation that she would return to work after giving birth. When she attempted to return to work in December 2023, she was told that no work was available. However, the employer hired new, non-pregnant employees before and after her attempted return, the EEOC said.
In addition to the monetary relief, a two-year consent decree resolving the lawsuit enjoins the employer from discriminating against any person based on pregnancy. The company must implement and disseminate to all employees a policy prohibiting pregnancy discrimination and train supervisors, managers, and other employees on that policy and on the requirements of Title VII and the PWFA. The company must also post a remedial notice about the settlement.
The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the District of Maryland; the case is No. 24-cv-02816-JKB.
Claimants sought. The EEOC said it is inviting male job applicants not hired by Kickback Jack’s restaurants in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia to contact the federal agency for possible inclusion in a sex discrimination case.
On September 25, 2024, the EEOC sued Battleground Restaurants, Inc. and Battleground Restaurant Group, Inc., dba Kickback Jack’s, for allegedly violating Title VII. The complaint alleges that the employer has failed or refused to hire male applicants who applied to non-managerial front-of-house positions, including server, bartender, and host/hostess positions, since December 2019.
Male applicants who sought employment as a server, host, and/or bartender with any of the defendants’ restaurants in North Carolina, Tennessee, or Virginia, but were not hired, or who were hired into a different position, may be claimants in this lawsuit.
The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the Middle District of North Carolina; the case is No.: 1:24-CV-00792.
Companies: Support Center for Child Advocates; Kurt Bluemel, Inc.; Battleground Restaurants, Inc.; Battleground Restaurant Group, Inc.; Kickback Jack’s
News: AgencyNews Discrimination SexDiscrimination PregnancyDiscrimination RemediesDamages LitigationNewsTrends