“The EEOC would like to remind employers that pregnancy discrimination has been illegal for decades, and violations of the law will be met with rigorous enforcement by our agency.”
The manager admitted in sworn testimony that he had made that statement, having been told by a company official that he could not hire pregnant women.
An Arizona federal jury returned a verdict against High Speed Enterprise, Inc., a corporation that owns five Phoenix-area Subway restaurants. The jury awarded damages to Belinda Murillo, a job applicant who claimed she was refused a position solely because she was pregnant. The suit was brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
According to the lawsuit, EEOC v. High Speed Enterprise, Inc. dba Subway, Murillo applied for a job at a central Phoenix Subway in May 2006. Later that month she met with the general manager who asked if she was pregnant. She said yes.
EEOC says that the manager told the applicant, “We can’t hire you because you’re pregnant.” She also reminded pregnant women that it is against the law for employers to fire them or treat them differently because they are expecting.
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