WOULDN’T LET EMPLOYEE TAKE EMERGENCY LEAVE
After one of Walgreens’ Alexandria, Louisiana, stores refused to allow a pregnant employee to take an emergency leave so that she could seek medical attention, and was forced to quit, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana (Civil Action No. 22-5357), alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and seeking the award of monetary damages and injunctive relief.
On March 15, 2024, in addition to announcing that the matter had been settled for $205,000, the company agreed to modify its employment related policies and practices and will file quarterly reports with the agency regarding any pregnancy or disability complaints it may receive.
In a written statement, Rudy Sustaita, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Houston District Office, noted that “Employers must ensure that pregnant workers are afforded equal employment opportunities …. Employers must consider an employee’s request for reasonable accommodation, including a request for leave, and grant that request when it is not an undue hardship.”
With that, I’ll take my leave ….
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