Benefits September 16, 2005

DC EMS Dept Settles Pregnancy Discrimination Complaint

September 16, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The District of Columbia Emergency Medical Services Department has reached a settlement on a complaint that female applicants were subjected to a pregnancy test upon employment with employment offers contingent on negative test results.
Reported by

BLR.com reports that three women who tested negative and were hired as emergency medical technicians in the district’s fire department attended a training class where they were told that females who became pregnant during their first year of employment would be in danger of losing their jobs. All three women became pregnant their first year, and because of the threat of losing their jobs, all three terminated their pregnancies by abortion.

The Department of Justice intervened in the case and helped negotiate the settlement agreement which the US District Court for the District of Columbia approved, according to BLR.com.

The agreement calls for the District to compensate each woman with $101,000 plus attorneys’ fees, affirm nondiscriminatory employment policies approved by the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs, implement training for supervisors on the rights of pregnant employees under Title VII, and regularly provide the federal government with information concerning any new civil rights complaints.

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