Agency claims bias by retailer

Walmart denies unfair climate

federal agency is suing Walmart Stores Inc., claiming the retailer discriminated against pregnant workers at a Wisconsin warehouse. Walmart already faces class-action lawsuits in New York and Illinois on behalf of thousands of pregnant employees at its stores.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s suit, filed last week, claims the Bentonville retailer violated the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 prohibiting workplace discrimination against pregnant women. In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the law requires employers to provide pregnant workers with the same accommodations as it does for disabled employees.

Walmart spokesman Randy Hargrove said in an email Monday that the company denies the allegations in the Wisconsin suit and believes it “is not suitable for class treatment.” The company has also denied the similar claims in the Illinois and New York lawsuits.

“We do not tolerate discrimination, and we support our associates by providing accommodations every day across all of our stores, clubs, distribution centers and offices,”

Hargrove said. “Our accommodations policy has been updated a number of times over the last several years and our policies have always fully met or exceeded both state and federal law and this includes the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Pregnancy

Discrimination Act.”

The suit filed in the U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin, states Walmart failed to accommodate Alyssa Gilliam’s pregnancy-related medical restrictions in 2015 with job modifications like those provided non-pregnant workers, such as “light duty” available to employees with work-related injuries.

As a result, the suit states,

Gilliam lost her benefits, had to reduce her hours and was forced to take unpaid leave. The suit includes a class of other women who were pregnant while working at the warehouse in Menomonie, Wis., between 2014 and October 2017.

The EEOC requests a judge order Walmart to comply with the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, provide back pay with interest to

Gilliam and other plaintiffs, and pay compensation for past and future losses resulting from noncompliant practices, in amounts to be determined at trial.

It also seeks punitive damages.

The suit is Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP, d/b/a Wal-Mart Distribution Center #6025.