Customs and Border Protection class action overview:ย
- Who: U.S. Customs and Border Protection has reached a $45 million settlement with workers who fell pregnant while employed by the agency.
- Why: The workers alleged the agency forced them onto light duty because they became pregnant.
- Where: The Customs and Border Protection class action was filed in the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has agreed to pay $45 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought by around 1,000 female workers who claimed they were unfairly placed on light duty after becoming pregnant.ย
The settlement was announced by the workersโ attorneys on Aug. 13 and resolves an administrative case filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
โCBP has a well-documented history of forcibly sidelining their employees when they report their pregnancies,โ Gilbert Employment Law partner Shannon Leary said in a press release. โThis policy created tremendous emotional and economic harm for these women, and we are pleased to have secured justice and accountability for their mistreatment.โย
The lawsuit, initially filed in 2016, accused CBP of violating the Pregnancy Discrimination Act by forcing pregnant officers and agriculture specialists onto light duty without allowing them the option to continue in their regular positions.ย
The workers alleged that this treatment was discriminatory, especially compared to how injured or sick employees were handled.ย
While other employees could choose to be placed on light duty, pregnant workers were automatically reassigned, often to roles with fewer opportunities for overtime, promotion, and training, the plaintiffs said.
CBP agrees to policy changes in settlement
The settlement includes significant policy changes within CBP โ under the new agreement, the agency will implement a policy that assumes pregnant officers and agriculture specialists can continue performing their regular duties unless they request otherwise.ย
Additionally, the agency will provide a list of accommodations available to pregnant employees and require mandatory training for supervisors on the rights of pregnant workers and reasonable accommodations.
Lead plaintiff Roberta Gabaldon expressed relief over the settlement, saying the previous policy was based on outdated views of pregnancy.ย
โAnnouncing my pregnancy to my colleagues and supervisor should have been a happy occasion โ but it quickly became clear that such news was not welcome,โ Gabaldon said. โThe assumption was that I could no longer effectively do my job, just because I was pregnant. It was traumatizing, frustrating and demoralizing.โย
The $45 million settlement not only compensates the affected workers but also ensures that any CBP employees who were placed on light duty due to pregnancy will have the option to return to their full duties under their normal shifts.ย
Last year, a report into the death of an 8-year-old girl at a Customs and Border Protection detention facility found the incident was preventable and the result of a โseries of failuresโ in CBP systems.ย
What do you think of this Customs and Border Protection settlement? Let us know in the comments.ย
The workers are represented by Joseph M. Sellers, Phoebe Wolfe, Harini Srinivasan and Megan Reif of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, and Gary Gilbert, Shannon Leary, Cori Cohen and Rachel Petro of Gilbert Employment Law.ย
The CBP pregnancy discrimination lawsuit is Gabaldon et al. v. Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Case No. 450-2017-00086X, in the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
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