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A recent class action claims that AT&T’s pregnancy policies discriminate against pregnant employees and the cell phone retailer refuse to accommodate their needs.
Plaintiff Cynthia Allen recently filed the AT&T pregnancy class action lawsuit over allegations that she and other pregnant women have been discriminated against while working at AT&T stores.
Allen says she worked for AT&T from December 2012 until April 2017.
While working at AT&T, Allen became pregnant and experienced multiple absences, late arrivals, and early departures during the course of her pregnancy.
The cellular company allegedly refused to excuse these occurrences while overlooking similar actions of Allen’s non-pregnant coworkers. Due to AT&T refusing to accommodate her pregnancy, Allen says she was fired in April 2017. She argues that her termination was discrimination and in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
“AT&T’s refusal to excuse absences, late arrivals, and early departures related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions constitutes intentional discrimination in violation of Title VII,” the AT&T pregnancy class action states.
Pregnancy is a fact of life and affects almost 85 percent of women during their careers, the AT&T class action lawsuit states. Allen says pregnant women experience a variety of symptoms that may interfere with work and will require regular doctor’s visits.
Despite the frequency of pregnancy in the workplace, an estimated 250,000 pregnant women are denied workplace accommodations each year, according to the AT&T pregnancy class action lawsuit.
When enacting Title VII amendments, Congress recognized that “discrimination against pregnant women is one of the chief ways in which women’s careers have been impeded and women employees treated like second-class employees.”
Allen claims that A&T blatant discrimination is widespread and has affected countless of other women working for the company. She argues that the company’s policy and actions constitute discrimination against pregnant employees and aims to hold them accountable for violation of Title VII, the American Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
Allen’s allegations are similar to those in an Indiana pending class action, filed by plaintiff Katia Hills, represented by the same counsel. AT&T has allegedly blocked attempts to merge Allen and Hills’ claims, prompting Allen to file a class action individually while waiting for the Indiana court’s ruling on merging their claims.
“As the Indiana court has yet to rule on the motion to add Ms. Allen’s claims, Ms. Allen has filed this action out of an abundance of caution to protect against the expiration of the limitations period governing her Title VII claims,” the AT&T pregnancy class action claims.
Allen seeks to represent a Class of non-exempt, non-managerial female employees who work or worked at AT&T corporate retail stores and were denied excused absences related to pregnancy.
The AT&T pregnancy class action seeks declaratory relief, injunctive relief, compensation for loss of income, compensatory damages, punitive damages, liquidated damages, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.
The plaintiff is represented by Sean J. Young of American Civil Liberties Union Foundation; Kalpana Kotagal of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC; Lenora M. Lapidus and Gillian L. Thomas of American Civil Liberties Union Women’s Rights Project.
The AT&T Pregnancy Discrimination Class Action Lawsuit is Allen v. AT&T Mobility Services LLC, et al., Case No. 1:18-cv-03730-MHC-JKL, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
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5 thoughts onAT&T Class Action: Company Discriminates Against Pregnant Workers
A@t never hire me if pregnant or distrinate
It’s horrible being pregnant working for this company. My male manager made lift boxes while 7months pregnant with my first child while he sat in the office to do absolutely nothing. Bending and lifting until I really couldn’t no more. It put me and my baby at risk.
In 2014 during my pregnancy working at At&t South Suburban Illinois in my seventh month I was forced to drive in a snow storm to location to do non-productive work. The manager threaten my job if I didn’t drive out there to just count equipment. Another manager told me there is no such thing a light duty. In 1999 when I was pregnant with my second child and something went wrong during a vaginal delivery had lacerations the doctors had trouble stopping the bleeding, two surgeries that was so painful! I took off a extra two weeks of maternity leave. At&t stated that my operation report didn’t justify me taking off the extra two weeks so they took pay back for those two weeks! Just add another on-going issue with this company is that people in my group of about 20 at least five people had heart attacks, three died of cancer, two with breathing problems, and four with stress issues. The offices are filthy, peeling paint, not sure if its abestos, old toilets from the 70’s it smells, no water to wash hands, etc. Many had reported these issues and they have been written up, suspended, or just threaten to keep quiet.
Watch out for the effects of dehumanization (biological response) after being denied leave or forced to come back early; especially if you come forward. I tried to oppose these everytime, even for others, and when mike, my 9 month old sons father, was murdered and I seen a Facebook live video and then got PTSD and was seen as a burden even though they denied my leave and forced me to return out of fear of being homeless and without money to care for my child after this and then demoted and then Insurance went up and left me with 5% of my check which meant I couldn’t pay rent and then I didn’t qualify for food stamps even though they took out over $660 of my previous take home because my hourly was too much and then the advocacy department is snickering at you when you ask if they can do something about it and speaking to you as if you are child, saying if it puts your son and you at risk then you could get rid of your 401k and going forward there is no more Insurance so I will get paid going forward. I wish I would’ve filed a lawsuit earlier but I wanted harmony and peace more than anything after what my family has been through… so I tried to “be the change” I hope to see one day. Now I have nothing, and it’s hard to put the pieces together because violations to human life aren’t something you can just get over when you have flashbacks and/or get emotionally numb because it’s so tragic. If you look at me now I look like a drug addict, that is how stressed I am I have Stress pimple/boils all over me.. it’s heartbreaking…
To continue, this happened when I was pregnant. When I opposed the intimidating tactics used to get a coworker to say yes to a grievance that they were at fault for and she lost her seniority for. Then, when my brother was in the icu, and being a Native American woman, who is disproportionately affected by discrimination and oppression and health disparities etc more than any other minority, this is devastating, I’m terrified to talk on this but now that we are basically homeless, I have nothing to lose. THey are investigating and the charge is just discrimination and harassment, but since I opposed verbally and via text/email many times, filed a formal complaint last year, and several other verbal and email/text including in my written letter saying I have no choice but to accept this demotion, don’t those count as protected activity? Shouldn’t this be a retaliation case? Just not sure what I can do. I’m too forgiving I suppose.