Avon Pregnancy Bias Class Action Can’t Be Arbitrated, Judge Says

A federal judge recently refocused an Avon pregnancy discrimination class action by dismissing some claims and refusing arbitration on others.

U.S. District Judge Vernon Broderick dismissed certain claims in the Avon class action but kept others in a recent mixed ruling.

Plaintiffs Caroline Ruiz, Olivera Krstanoska and Maxine Rivas brought their Avon class action lawsuit against the beauty company in 2018, alleging that the organization discriminates against pregnant workers.

Judge Broderick kept several claims alive in his motion, including Title VII claims and claims under the New York State Human Rights Law and New York City Human Rights Law. The judge also denied Avon’s request to compel arbitration in Ruiz’s claims.

Ruiz formerly worked as the head of North American indirect procurement at New Avon, the beauty company’s North American subsidiary. When she got pregnant and was directed to be on bed rest for a few days, the company allegedly illegally fired her rather than honoring her bed rest request.

According to the Avon class action, Ruiz was reportedly recommended to be on bed rest for several days after a miscarriage scare involving a trip to the emergency room and “heavy bleeding.”

Avon argued that Ruiz’s claims should be resolved in arbitration due to an arbitration agreement that she signed when she was hired in November 2017. Judge Broderick denied this argument after finding that this agreement was superseded by an employment contract she signed in December 2017 after her start date was pushed back.

“Because the employment agreement that Ruiz signed after she executed New Avon’s employment arbitration agreement contains a mandatory forum selection clause establishing that all disputes relating to Ruiz’s employment must be submitted to the ‘sole exclusive jurisdiction’ of this court or New York state courts, I conclude that Ruiz is not obligated to submit her claims against New Avon to arbitration,” the judge determined in his Avon class action order.

Although Judge Broderick kept Ruiz’s claims alive, he determined that some of Krstanoska’s claims against one defendant would be dismissed. Krstanoska previously worked as a microbiologist for Avon and reportedly became pregnant in 2014.

She allegedly requested to avoid working with certain chemicals that could harm her and her baby, but her requests were reportedly denied. Krstanoska also claims that she was “regularly belittled” for taking protective measures of her own volition.

After Krstanoska returned from maternity leave, she was reportedly harassed for needing to pump breast milk during work hours. In the Avon class action, she also claims that her workstation and equipment were taken away after she returned.

This experience was reportedly repeated during Krstanoska’s second pregnancy in 2015. She also claims that she was constructively discharged, meaning that she was forced to quit. She was reportedly transferred to a department where she had no experience and was given a heavy workload, leading her to conclude that her employer “set her up for failure.”

All claims brought by Rivas in the Avon class action were dismissed by the judge due to failure to show she worked for New Avon and statute of limitation constraints. Similarly to Krstanoska, Rivas claims that she was discriminated against during and after her pregnancy and was constructively discharged.

Although some claims were denied, the plaintiff counsel is pleased that some claims remained, and that Ruiz’s claims were not forced into arbitration.

“Our client’s claims, individually and on behalf of a proposed class of female employees at New Avon LLC, will not be silenced by forced arbitration,” the plaintiffs’ counsel told Law360.

“We are extremely pleased that Ms. Ruiz can proceed publicly with her pregnancy discrimination claims against New Avon LLC, and that our client Ms. Krstanoska can proceed with her claims against Avon Products Inc. on behalf of female employees that need to pump breast milk during work.”

Have you experienced pregnancy discrimination at Avon or another company? Share your experiences in the comment section below.

Named plaintiffs and the proposed Class are represented by Jeanne M. Christensen and Hilary Orzick of Wigdor LLP.

The Avon Pregnancy Discrimination Class Action Lawsuit is Ruiz v. New Avon LLC, et al., Case No. 1:18-cv-09033, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

UPDATE: On Jan. 23, 2020, the parties in an Avon pregnancy discrimination class action lawsuit alleging that the cosmetics company fired or otherwise mistreated pregnant employees have reportedly settled.

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