Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, EEOC NEWS—New lawsuits allege pregnancy, age discrimination; $80K recovered in religious discrimination settlement, (Sep 19, 2025)

By Jonathan Anderson

One of the lawsuits accuses an employer of sex, disability, and age discrimination for refusing to allow an older, female worker with a disability to re-enter its apprenticeship program.

The EEOC filed suit against five employers alleging violations of Title VII, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The new suits accuse employers in Mississippi, Illinois, Michigan, and the District of Columbia of pregnancy, age, sex and/or disability discrimination. The federal agency also said it recovered $80,000 in a conciliation agreement to resolve claims of Title VII religious discrimination against a business in Alabama.

Pregnancy discrimination. Smoke BBQ LLC, dba Cosmos, a restaurant in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, violated Title VII and the PDA by firing a server because of her pregnancy, according to a lawsuit filed by the EEOC. The lawsuit alleges that in November 2023, the server told her colleagues about her pregnancy shortly after she started working at the restaurant. The next day, after Cosmos managers heard about her pregnancy, she was fired. The federal agency is seeking monetary damages—including back pay, compensatory damages, and punitive damages—as well as injunctive relief.

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the Southern District of Mississippi; the case is No. 1:25-cv-00278-TBM-RPM.

Pregnancy discrimination. The EEOC filed separate lawsuits against two Chicago-area employers for allegedly violating the PWFA by failing to accommodate pregnant employees. In a suit against R&L Carriers, the EEOC alleges that the freight shipping company discriminated against a truck driver when it forced her to take leave rather than let her continue to work during her pregnancy. The second suit alleges that Prairie Green at Fay’s Point, an assisted living facility, terminated a pregnant employee after she disclosed her pregnancy and related lifting restriction. In both cases, the EEOC charged that the employees informed their employers of their pregnancy and requested an accommodation for a 20-pound lifting restriction. Accommodating the restriction would have allowed the employees to continue to work, but their employers refused. The EEOC seeks monetary damages for each employee, including compensatory and punitive damages, and injunctive relief against the employers to prevent similar unlawful conduct in the future.

The EEOC filed both suits in the Northern District of Illinois; the cases are No. 25-cv-11121 (R&L Carriers) and No. 25-cv-11111 (Prairie Green at Fay’s Point).

Age discrimination. The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (D.C. Water) violated the ADEA when it fired an employee based on his age, according to a lawsuit filed by the EEOC. The lawsuit alleges that D.C. Water terminated the employee and other high-performing and experienced older colleagues in September 2023 and replaced them with substantially younger and less qualified workers. The employee and his older colleagues had never received a performance counseling or warning prior to his termination, and D.C. Water ignored its own progressive discipline policy when it terminated the older workers without providing notice of and an opportunity to correct alleged performance issues, the suit alleges.

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia; the case is No. 1:25-cv-03189.

Sex, disability, age discrimination. Tower Automotive Operations USA I, LLC, dba Autokiniton, an auto parts manufacturer with a facility in Plymouth, Michigan, violated Title VII, the ADA, and the ADEA when it refused to allow an older, female worker with a disability to re-enter its apprenticeship program, according to a lawsuit filed by the EEOC. The lawsuit alleges that the employee, who had over 30 years of experience in automotive manufacturing, joined the manufacturer’s apprenticeship program in 2018 as the only female apprentice. She performed successfully, despite enduring sex and disability discrimination. In March 2020, Autokiniton laid off its workers because of the pandemic. After the layoff, the company allowed men to resume their apprenticeships and it recalled the female employee, but it refused her re-entry into the apprenticeship program, denying her a higher wage and opportunities for overtime. Instead, the company allowed three younger men to enter the program in 2022 as new apprentices. The company reinstated her as an apprentice in 2025 but then paid her a lower apprentice rate.

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the Eastern District of Michigan; the case is No. 2:25-cv-12926.

Religious discrimination. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc., a nationwide restaurant operator, will pay $80,000 to a job applicant as part of a conciliation agreement with the EEOC to settle allegations of Title VII religious discrimination. The EEOC alleged that the applicant was not hired at a restaurant location in Birmingham, Alabama, because of his request for a religious accommodation. During his job interview, the applicant had requested Sundays off because of his religious beliefs; the EEOC’s investigation concluded he was not hired because of the accommodation request. As part of the settlement, P.F. Chang’s agreed to provide back pay, compensatory and punitive damages, and revise written policies and procedures about religious accommodations. The restaurant also agreed to require training for its Birmingham employees, supervisors, managers, and human resources personnel on equal employment opportunity rights and responsibilities, with an emphasis on religious accommodations. In addition, the employer agreed to post a notice regarding the resolution of this matter and the laws enforced by the EEOC.

Companies: Smoke BBQ LLC; Cosmos; R&L Carriers; Prairie Green at Fay’s Point; District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority; Tower Automotive Operations USA I, LLC; Autokiniton; P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc.

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