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The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a federal lawsuit in Wisconsin Friday against Walmart Inc. for alleged unlawful discrimination against pregnant employees.
Jeff Chiu / AP
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Jeff Chiu / AP
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a federal lawsuit in Wisconsin Friday against Walmart Inc. for alleged unlawful discrimination against pregnant employees.
Jeff Chiu / AP
The Equal Opportunities Commission launched a lawsuit against Walmart Inc. on Friday alleging that the company had illegally discriminated against pregnant workers for years in one of its warehouses of Wisconsin.
The complaint, filed in a federal court on behalf of Alyssa Gilliam, states that Walmart failed to consider the medical restrictions related to the pregnancy of workers, even though amendments to the law have not been made. employment was made to non-pregnant disabled employees. He also said that the company had refused requests for unpaid leave from pregnant workers.
According to the EEOC, Gilliam, who worked at a Walmart distribution center in Menomonie, became pregnant in 2015. Early on, she asked for light tasks or a less physically demanding job, avoiding lifting weights because of her pregnancy. But the company refused to make any changes to its assignment and refused later requests regarding a chair, shorter work days or extra breaks.
"As a result, Gilliam lost her benefits, had to reduce her hours and was forced to take unpaid leave," says the lawsuit.
"Our investigation revealed that Walmart had a robust program in place that allowed workers to be subject to lifting restrictions," said Julianne Bowman, Director of the EEOC in Chicago.
"But Walmart deprived pregnant workers of the opportunity to participate in this program, which amounted to discrimination in pregnancy, which violates federal law," the statement said.
Walmart is the largest private employer in the country.
Walmart spokesman Randy Hargrove told NPR that the Arkansas-based company is contesting the allegations and saying "this case is not suitable for class treatment".
"Walmart is the ideal place for working women, we do not tolerate discrimination, and we support our associates by providing housing every day at all our stores, clubs, distribution centers, and offices," she said. -he declares.
"Our housing policy has been updated several times in recent years and our policies have always respected or exceeded state and federal laws, including the US Disability Act and the Discrimination Act." , he added. declaration.
Reuters reported:
Walmart also faces class-action lawsuits in Illinois and New York accusing it of refusing housing to thousands of pregnant workers in its stores.In March, a federal judge in Illinois dismissed Walmart's request. "
The Federal Discrimination Act of 1978 prohibits workplace discrimination against pregnant women, but the Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that the law explicitly dealt with the obligation of the employer to provide the same type of accommodation to women with disabilities.
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