Belmont Village Sued By EEOC For Pregnancy Discrimination

Senior Living Facility Company Fired Chef and Personal Care Aide After They Reported Their Pregnancies, Federal Agency Charges

ATLANTA – Belmont Village, L.P. and Belmont Village at Buckhead Senior Living, LLC, owners and operators of senior living facilities throughout the United States, including a location in Atlanta, unlawfully fired two employees because of their pregnancies, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed recently.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, when Joann Johnson and Marcia Thomas informed their supervisors that they were pregnant, they were immediately written up for alleged job performance issues and discharged. Other employees who had similar job performance issues, but who were not pregnant, were not terminated.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex, including pregnancy. The EEOC filed suit (Civil Action No., 1:11-CV-02848) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The EEOC is seeking back pay and compensatory and punitive damages for Johnson and Thomas, as well as injunctive relief designed to stop pregnancy discrimination and prevent it from recurring in the future.

“An employee should never be terminated simply because she is pregnant, said Bernice Williams-Kimbrough, district director for the EEOC’s Atlanta District Office."The EEOC is committed to protectingfemale employees from arbitrary firings due to pregnancy.”

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.