Although CNMI law requires that employers pay for all of the medical expenses incurred by non-resident workers, AA Enterprises required at least four female nonresident gas station employees to pay for their own pregnancy-related medical expenses as a condition of employment, according to the EEOC. The women were threatened with termination if they did not pay their pay those bills, EEOC stated.
The EEOC argued that nonresident employees were not required to pay for their non-pregnancy related medical expenses as a condition of continued employment, a stark difference in treatment based solely on pregnancy.
Within two weeks of the date that they filed EEOC charges of discrimination, AA Enterprises terminated two of the victims. The EEOC contends that the terminations were a form of illegal retaliation.
The EEOC filed its lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of the Northern Mariana Islands (EEOC v. AA Enterprises Inc., Case No. CV 10-0024), arguing that AA Enterprises’ conduct is a direct violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The suit was filed after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement. The EEOC’s suit seeks back pay, compensatory and punitive damages on behalf of the victims, as well as injunctive relief intended to prevent further discrimination at the company.
“Pregnant women have the right to not only keep their jobs throughout their pregnancy, but also to be treated fairly irrespective of condition,” said Anna Y. Park, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Los Angeles District Office, which has jurisdiction over the Northern Marianas. “This is a case where the company defied the territory’s own laws for the sole purpose of discriminating against its pregnant employees.”
Timothy Riera, director of the EEOC’s Honolulu Local Office, added, “Employees have the right to voice their concerns over unfair, biased treatment on the job.
Employers who take adverse actions against employees who do so can and will be held liable for retaliation.”
