DECKER TRANSPORT SUED BY EEOC FOR PREGNANCY DISCRIMINATION

DETROIT  – A New Jersey-based trucking company violated federal law by firing a female  truck driver just hours after learning of her pregnancy, the U.S. Equal  Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed  today.

According  to the EEOC’s suit (Case No. 2:09CV13116), filed in U.S. District Court for the  Eastern District of Michigan, the discrimination victim, a 30-year-old woman  from Detroit who worked for Decker Transport Co., Inc., informed the employer  of her pregnancy after a trip to a hospital emer­gency room. The company immediately put her on temporary  leave and told her not to return to work until after she “got rid of the  problem.” When the female worker  refused, the company terminated her employment.

Pregnancy  discrimination is a form of gender discrimination which violates Title VII of  the Civil Rights Act, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. The EEOC  filed suit after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement. The EEOC is seeking an injunction to prohibit  the company from engaging in this type of discrimination in the future, as well  as monetary relief on behalf of the victim.

“This is a  straightforward case of pregnancy discrimination based on unfounded assumptions  about the abilities of pregnant women,” said EEOC Trial Attorney Lauren  Gibbs. “When discrimination like this  goes unchecked, especially in male-dominated professions such as trucking, it  only allows false stereotypes about women and pregnancy to perpetuate.”

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment  discrimination. Further information  about the EEOC is available on the agency’s web site at www.eeoc.gov.