ERA is pleased to announce that it has reached a settlement on behalf of Amira*, an immigrant worker who was harassed and ultimately fired from her job as a caregiver for seniors at a residential health care facility in the South Bay shortly after she told her boss that she was pregnant.

The settlement provides monetary and non-monetary relief for Amira to resolve claims that ERA filed on her behalf last year with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, alleging that Amira’s employer, a national operator of residential facilities and communities for seniors, had subjected Amira to harassment, other forms of discrimination, and ultimately terminated her because she was pregnant and sought to exercise her right to take pregnancy-related leave. Amira also alleged that the company discriminated against her and other caregivers based on their race and national origin.

Amira’s case is unfortunately not unusual.  ERA has seen a sharp rise in pregnancy discrimination and accommodation complaints in recent years, a trend mirrored at the federal level. (Click here to see ERA’s May 2012 report, Expecting a Baby, Not A Lay-off:  Why Federal Law Should Require the Reasonable Accommodation of Pregnant Workers, noting a 54% rise in pregnancy discrimination claims filed with the EEOC between 1997 and 2010.)  ERA Staff Attorney Mia Munro is proud to have represented Amira and observes that, “It takes real courage and determination for women like Amira to come forward and complain about these injustices.  We are very pleased that the matter has been resolved to the satisfaction of all parties.”

ERA Legal Director Jennifer Reisch further added that, “This case shows how discrimination against pregnant workers and the failure to provide reasonable accommodations that would enable women to keep working during pregnancy are particularly acute problems, and have especially devastating economic consequences, for women in low-wage jobs and industries.”

ERA fights for women like Amira because we believe that providing pregnant employees with reasonable accommodations on the job is essential to fulfilling the promise of equal opportunity in employment.  This is also why ERA is a strong supporter of the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), a bill which would require employers to provide pregnant workers with reasonable accommodations.  Learn more about this important issue and take action to support the PWFA.

*Not her real name

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