MINNEAPOLIS (Legal Newsline) — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced Dec. 20 that Trinity Health, which does business as Trinity Hospital in Minot, North Dakota, has agreed to a $95,000 settlement after allegations of pregnancy and disability discrimination.
"Both the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act may require that an employer provide accommodations such as light duty to nurses with pregnancy-related limitations,” said Greg Gochanour, the regional attorney for the EEOC's Chicago District.
According to EEOC, a Trinity nurse who was pregnant had lifting restrictions because of a health condition related to the pregnancy. Trinity allegedly fired her rather than accommodate her disability and need for light-duty work. Despite denying the pregnant employee, Trinity provided light-duty positions to nurses injured on the job.
"Employers must understand that the law obliges them to accommodate restrictions of pregnant employees -- just as they would accommodate other employees who are similar in their ability or inability to work," said Julianne Bowman, the EEOC's district director in Chicago. "It is especially important that they understand that if they are accommodating persons with restrictions arising from a work-related injury, they may have to provide the same accommodations to employees with restrictions arising out of pregnancy."
EEOC's Chicago District office oversees agency operations in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota, with area offices in Milwaukee and Minneapolis.