Dallas-Area Restaurant Settles Pregnancy Discrimination Suit for $20K

Arthur’s Restaurant and Bar, a fine dining steakhouse and lounge in Addison, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, will pay $20,000 to a former cocktail server to settle a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced.

The EEOC alleged that the restaurant unlawfully fired cocktail server Jennifer Todd on Aug. 8, 2012, during her seventh month of pregnancy. She was fired when the company told her it decided she should begin her maternity leave early.

Arthur’s claimed they acted out of concern for the health of the mother and baby. Todd was fired soon after Arthur’s owner made a comment to her saying she was “starting to show.”

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, which prohibits employers from firing an employee due to pregnancy, or requiring them to take maternity leave while still able to work.

The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Restaurant & Bar Arthurs, Ltd., et al., Civil Action No. 3:14-CV-03033-N) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through the voluntary conciliation process.

As part of the consent decree settling the case, Arthur’s agreed to implement training and post notices in each of its restaurants informing employees about pregnancy or gender discrimination. The commission said the company also agreed to report to the EEOC any employee pregnancy discrimination complaints during the five-year term of the decree.

The EEOC has filed more than 45 lawsuits during the past four years involving claims of pregnancy discrimination and has recovered approximately $3.5 million — as well as important injunctive and other case-specific “make whole” relief — for victims of pregnancy discrimination.

Source: EEOC

Topics Lawsuits