U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission
PRESS RELEASE
9-27-12
Company's Policy Requiring Immediate Notification of Pregnancy Is Discriminatory, Federal Agency Charges
DETROIT - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced that it filed a lawsuit against Muskegon River Youth Home in Muskegon, Mich., for maintaining a discriminatory pregnancy policy for its employees.
According to the EEOC's suit, the home's policies require employees to immediately notify the company once the employee learns she is pregnant, and requires her to produce a certification from her doctor that she is capable of continuing to work."
The EEOC filed suit against Muskegon River Youth Home in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, arguing that the policy is a form of pregnancy discrimination that violates the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, a part of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (EEOC v. Muskegon River Youth Home., Case No. 1:12-cv-01049). The EEOC's suit seeks an injunction against the company which would prohibit Muskegon River Youth Home from maintaining its pregnancy policy.
"Maintaining such a policy violates the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which safeguards the rights of pregnant employees to the same treatment as others," said EEOC Trial Attorney Nedra Campbell. The EEOC takes seriously a pregnant woman's right to the same terms and conditions of employment."
Muskegon River Youth Home is a private detention center for troubled teens. Muskegon River Youth Home is based in the city of Muskegon, and has been in business since 1996.
The EEOC is the federal agency that enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on the agency's web site at www.eeoc.gov.