Arkansas insurer faces U.S. lawsuit

USAble Life, an insurance company in Little Rock, was sued Wednesday by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on accusations it fired an employee last year for complaining about discrimination related to her pregnancy and disability.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Little Rock, accuses the company of violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act. It seeks monetary relief in the form of back pay, compensatory and punitive damages, and compensation for lost benefits, and seeks an injunction against future discrimination.

The commission said it was filed after failure to reach a pre-litigation settlement.

In a news release, the EEOC’s district director, Delner Franklin-Thomas in Memphis, Tenn., said, “An employer cannot punish an employee for complaining

about treatment that the employee reasonably believes constitutes discrimination. Terminating an employee because of her complaint creates a chilling effect in the workplace and discourages others from complaining.”

No one at the Little Rock office of the company could be reached for comment Wednesday. A recorded message said offices were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The company, founded in 2005 by two Blue Cross and Blue Shield organizations, serves Blue Cross plans

across the country, providing specialty insurance programs. Blue Cross owns about 40% of USAble, according to the lawsuit.

Assigned to U.S. District Judge Brian Miller, the suit was filed on behalf of former employee Christian DeClue, whose allegedly retaliatory firing occurred April 11, 2018.

DeClue was hired Sept. 21, 2015, as a customer care associate. After she became pregnant with an expected delivery date of Jan. 16, 2018, the suit says, the company approved her requests to be off work from Jan. 15 through Feb. 26, with her paid leave ending Feb. 26 and her 12 weeks of unpaid leave under

the Family Medical Leave Act to end April 9.

Because of the company’s “insistence” she return to work on or before Feb. 26, her doctor asked she remain off work through March 7, according to the suit. It said the doctor later submitted another request she remain on leave through March 20 because of a pregnancy-related medical condition, anxiety and postpartum depression, and the company approved the requests.

During that time, it says, DeClue interviewed at the company for two promotional opportunities. The suit says she wasn’t selected for either position, and was told it was because she

lacked the requisite managerial experience but, “based on information and belief,” it was “because she was a lactating mother and would need breaks to pump milk,” and because she was taking medication for anxiety and depression.

In March 2018, about 10 days after DeClue was interviewed for the positions, she complained to a company vice president and to a Blue Cross Blue Shield hotline about being denied either promotion, voicing her suspicions of discrimination. The suit says she was fired April 11 “for complaining of pregnancy-related discrimination to a third party,” referring to Blue Cross.