Texas Holiday Inn Owner Sued for Firing Pregnant Employee

Federal officials have sued the owner of a Holiday Inn Express and Suites in Corpus Christi, Texas, for firing a temporary employee because she was pregnant,

Awon Phie LLC, doing business as the Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Corpus Christi, violated federal law when it fired the temporary employee placed by a staffing company because she was pregnant, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the company’s operations manager told an employee that she noticed her stomach, referring to her being pregnant. The company’s operations manager told the employee she was a “liability” because of her pregnancy and fired her, stating that she could not allow a pregnant woman to work for the employer, the EEOC charged.

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which prohibits employers from discriminating against pregnant employees. The EEOC filed its lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Corpus Christi Division (EEOC v. Awon Phie LLC d/b/a Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Case No. 2:21-cv-00012) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

In this case, the EEOC seeks back pay and compensatory and punitive damages for the employee, as well as injunctive relief, including requiring that the company revise its anti-discrimination policies to include Title VII’s protections against sex discrimination on the basis of pregnancy.

Source: EEOC

Topics Lawsuits Texas