Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, EEOC NEWS—New lawsuits allege disability, pregnancy discrimination; $427K recovered in latest settlements, (Sep 18, 2025)

By Jonathan Anderson

Two of the employers allegedly discriminated against long-time employees.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued the operator of a Maryland cinema that allegedly deprived an employee with cerebral palsy of reasonable accommodations in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The federal agency also sued two Maryland healthcare companies for refusing to provide a reasonable accommodation to a pregnant employee and then firing her in violation of Title VII, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. Separately, an Alabama manufacturer will pay $77,500 and provide other relief to resolve an ADA suit, and two healthcare organizations in Arkansas agreed to pay $350,000 and furnish other relief to settle a Title VII retaliation claim.

Disability lawsuit. American Multi-Cinema (AMC) violated the ADA by forcing an employee with a disability to leave his job at the company’s movie theater in Owings Mills, Maryland, according to a lawsuit filed by the EEOC. The lawsuit alleges that AMC forced an employee with cerebral palsy to quit around September 2023 after it deprived him of reasonable accommodations that would have enabled him to better perform his job and then greatly reduced his hours. The theater refused to provide a ticket scanner with a strap and side button, which would have been easier for him to use, and a printed list of the movies and their corresponding theaters in large font, according to the suit. The employee had worked for AMC for 22 years.

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the District of Maryland; the case is No. 25-cv-03003-CJC.

Pregnancy lawsuit. Roland Park Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, a residential health care facility in Baltimore City, Maryland, and its management company, Atlas Healthcare, violated multiple federal laws by refusing to provide a reasonable accommodation to a pregnant employee and firing her instead, according to a lawsuit filed by the EEOC. The lawsuit alleges that a certified nursing assistant told Roland Park she was temporarily restricted by her doctor from lifting patients because of risks in her pregnancy. In response, Roland Park, which maintained a policy of reserving light or modified duty for workers with on-the-job injuries only, refused to provide a reasonable accommodation for the employee as required by federal law. Instead, the company terminated her, telling her to reapply for a position after her pregnancy, according to the lawsuit. The complaint alleges that the companies violated Title VII, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the District of Maryland, Northern Division; the case is No. 1:25-cv-2986.

Disability settlement. Sanmina Corporation will pay $77,500 and provide other relief to settle an ADA disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC. The lawsuit alleged that the employer, a provider of electronics contract manufacturing services, discriminated against a long-time employee at its Huntsville, Alabama, facility who suffered from osteoarthritis and other health conditions. Her conditions made walking across Sanmina’s large parking lot, which lacked sufficient accessible parking spaces, difficult and painful. After allowing employees to work from home for two years, around February 2022, Sanmina required employees to return onsite. The employee requested a reasonable accommodation to continue working remotely to avoid the pain associated with getting in and out of her car and the long walk to the building. Although Sanmina told her she could continue to work from home pending any further consideration of her requested accommodation, the company fired her several months later without notice, because she continued to exercise her reasonable accommodation of working remotely due to her disabilities, the EEOC charged.

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the Northern District of Alabama; the case is No. 5:24-cv-01317-LCB.

Retaliation settlement. Interventional Pain Management Associates (IPMA), a pain management clinic in Mountain Home, Arkansas, and Baxter Regional Medical Center, a nonprofit hospital, will pay $350,000 and furnish other relief to settle a Title VII retaliation lawsuit filed by the EEOC. The lawsuit alleged that IPMA and Baxter fired an employee in retaliation for her opposition to the sexual harassment of a co-worker. The fired employee had been interviewed in a human resources investigation and confirmed the allegations of sexual harassment, including describing sexually explicit text messages that the victim received. Several years later, a physician who knew that the employee had participated in the investigation asked the employee to resign, and when she refused, she was fired.

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the Western District of Arkansas, Harrison Division; the case is No. 3:23-cv-03040.

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