First PWFA Settlement Highlights Importance of Interactive Process
Author: Emily Scace, Brightmine Senior Legal Editor
November 1, 2024
A Florida beachfront hotel and resort has agreed to pay $100,000 in damages and implement various measures to ensure compliance with the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The case marks the first PWFA settlement for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
The PWFA, which took effect in 2023, requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations for employees’ or applicants’ known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions unless the accommodation would impose undue hardship. Final regulations under the PWFA went into effect on June 18, 2024.
According to the complaint, when an employee at Lago Mar Resort & Beach Club requested leave to recover and grieve following a stillbirth during the fifth month of her pregnancy, Lago Mar terminated her employment and failed to engage in any interactive process regarding the leave request. The EEOC alleges that Lago Mar’s alleged conduct violated both the PWFA and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Employers faced with a request for accommodation under the PWFA or the ADA must engage in an interactive process with the employee to identify the employee’s known limitation or disability, the necessary adjustment or change and potential reasonable accommodations. Discharging or retaliating against an employee for exercising their rights to request an accommodation is also prohibited under both laws.
PWFA regulations specifically cite permitting an employee to use paid or unpaid leave to recover from a miscarriage or stillbirth as an example of a reasonable accommodation.
Under the terms of the settlement, Lago Mar has agreed to:
- Pay $100,000 in damages to the former employee;
- Appoint an EEO coordinator;
- Revise its policies to ensure that employees are provided reasonable accommodations under the PWFA and the ADA;
- Provide training to all of its employees; and
- Report any complaints of discrimination to the EEOC.
“This litigation highlights the need to provide equal opportunities and accommodations for pregnant and disabled employees, as well as the necessity of training managers on how to properly handle PWFA or ADA related matters in the workplace,” EEOC Miami District Director Evangeline Hawthorne said in a statement.