Oklahoma Medical Practice to Pay $90K in Pregnancy Discrimination Lawsuit

Urologic Specialists of Oklahoma, Inc., a medical practice that operates five clinics employing two dozen physicians in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri, will pay $90,000 and furnish other relief to settle a pregnancy and disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced.

According to the EEOC’s suit, in 2023, Urologic Specialists denied reasonable accommodations to a medical assistant at its Tulsa facility during the final trimester of her high-risk pregnancy. Rather than allow the medical assistant to sit, take short breaks, or work part-time, as recommended by her doctor to protect her health and safety, the medical practice forced her to take unpaid leave, refused to guarantee her job when she returned to work following the birth of her child, and refused to guarantee that it would provide breaks for her to express breast milk. When the assistant stated she could not return to work without those guaranteed breaks, Urologic Specialists fired her.

Such alleged conduct violates the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and the Americas with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibit pregnancy and disability discrimination. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Urologic Specialists of Oklahoma, Inc., Case No. 24-cv-00452-JFJ) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

In addition to the required monetary relief, the four-year consent decree settling the suit obligates Urologic Specialists to designate personnel tasked with ensuring compliance with the PWFA and ADA going forward, adopt strong policies and procedures for the provision of reasonable accommodations for pregnant or disabled employees, and train supervisors and other employees.

Source: EEOC

Topics Lawsuits Oklahoma