A Pennsylvania-based security company will pay $110,000 to settle a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit filed on behalf of an employee in Louisiana, federal officials say.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said U.S. Security Associates Inc., a security company doing business as Conshohocken, Pa.-based Allied Universal, has agreed to pay a uniformed security guard $110,000 to settle the suit filed after the company fired her after finding out she was pregnant.
In its lawsuit, the EEOC charged that Allied Universal transferred a security guard at a Baton Rouge location to a more strenuous post after it became aware that she was pregnant. When the guard told Allied Universal that the new post was causing her pain, the company told her to obtain a doctor’s note rather than returning her to her initial post. The guard provided the note, and Allied Universal placed her on involuntary leave. The company then told the guard that she needed another doctor’s note releasing her to return to work. The guard provided this note, but Allied Universal kept her on leave for over a month and then fired her.
Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, including pregnancy. The EEOC filed its suit (Civil Action No. 2:20-cv-02467) in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana last year.
Under the three-year consent decree settling the suit entered March 5, 2021, Allied Universal will pay the security guard $110,000 in back pay and damages and will also conduct training and provide regular reports to the EEOC.
Source: EEOC
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