INDIANAPOLIS, In. – Wabash National, a nationwide producer of semi-trailers and other commercial trucking equipment, is being sued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission who claims the company violated federal law when it failed to accommodate an employee’s known pregnancy-related limitation and subjected her to an unlawful medical inquiry.
The suit comes five days after Wabash was hit with a a judgement requiring the company to pay $12 million in compensatory damages and $450 million in punitive damages related to a 2019 motor vehicle accident in which a passenger vehicle traveling at a high speed struck the back of a nearly stopped 2004 Wabash trailer. This is the first federal lawsuit claiming violation of the new Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Wabash denied a pregnant employee’s accommodation request to transfer to a role that did not require lying on her stomach. Instead, the company forced her to take unpaid leave and ultimately gave her no choice but to return to her position without modification. The company’s decision to deny the accommodation request caused her to fear for the health of her pregnancy, the EEOC said, and she was forced to resign nearly eight months pregnant.
In response to her request, the company also unlawfully required medical documentation, and failed to accommodate even though it could have provided changes similar to those the company provides for non-pregnant workers with similar limitations, according to the suit.
“Protecting pregnant workers is a strategic enforcement priority for the EEOC,” said EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows. “This is the first lawsuit we’ve filed to enforce the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), but it’s just one of the many ways the EEOC has been working to fulfill the promise of the PWFA since it took effect. The EEOC will continue to use all its tools – including enforcement, education, and outreach – to ensure workers are aware of their rights, and that employers meet their responsibilities under this new law.”
According to a press release from the EEOC regarding the lawsuit, the alleged conduct violated the recently enacted Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), as well as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Wabash National Corporation, Case No. 5:24-cv-00148-BJB) in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, Paducah Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through the agency’s conciliation process.
“The PWFA provides critical protections for employees who are too often pushed out of the workforce because of pregnancy, childbirth, or related needs,” said Kenneth L. Bird, the EEOC’s regional attorney in Indianapolis. “This case will educate the public about those protections and help to ensure that employers heed them.”
EEOC Trial Attorney Kathleen Bensberg added, “No one should be forced to choose between their livelihood and the health of their pregnancy. We are eager to vindicate this worker’s rights and secure relief to prevent future pregnancy discrimination.”
For more information on pregnancy discrimination, visit https://www.eeoc.gov/pregnancy-discrimination.
For more information about the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, visit https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-pregnant-workers-fairness-act.
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
