Nonprofit pays big for anti-pregnancy workplace policy

On Behalf of | Jun 8, 2015 | Workplace Discrimination |

Employment discrimination is something that no person should tolerate nor do they have to. It is illegal for an employer to discriminate against an employee because of their race, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability or pregnancy. Even though employers are aware of this behavior being illegal, employment discrimination still occurs. The good thing is there are consequences for this behavior, and if an employer is found guilty of discrimination, they may have to compensate the employee they discriminated against.

United Bible Fellowship Ministries, Inc. is one company that had a recent legal battle regarding employment discrimination. This particular organization had a workplace policy that prohibited pregnancy. If any employee was to become pregnant while working there, they would be terminated. They would also refuse to hire any applicant who was pregnant. This policy was finally challenged, after a case was filed against the organization for discrimination.

When one of their employees became pregnant, she was terminated, despite her ability to still complete her job duties without any difficulty. Following the incident, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission brought up a lawsuit, claiming that the organization’s pregnancy policy did not comply with the Civil Rights Act. As a consequence of their discrimination, the organization was forced to pay their former employee for damages and back pay, awarding her a total of $75,000.

While employment discrimination likely occurs every day, not every employee is compensated for the actions of their employers. This is unfortunate because no employer should get away with such behavior and no employee should have to endure it. Those who have been discriminated against can contact an employment discrimination attorney to discuss their options.

Source: Think Progress, “Nonprofit Ordered To Pay $75,000 Over ‘No Pregnancy In The Workplace’ Policy,” Bryant Covert, May 29, 2015

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