EEOC Investigation Found Restaurant Fired Worker After Revealing Pregnancy

TACOMA, Wash. – Hoyle Enterprises LLC, doing business as Lady Luck Steakhouse (“Lady Luck”), a local restaurant in Tacoma, Washington, has agreed to the terms of a conciliation agreement following the investigation of a charge of discrimination filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

According to the EEOC, Lady Luck fired a newly-hired pregnant worker after completing a single shift. Lady Luck’s management team also had a practice of excluding pregnant workers from working certain “club night” shifts. Such conduct and policies violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on sex, including pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions.

According to the terms of the two-year conciliation agreement, Lady Luck will provide compensatory damages and backpay to the former employee. In addition, the restaurant owners agree to revise its nondiscrimination policy, stop preventing pregnant employees from working certain shifts and performing certain duties, and conduct a training for management and human resources personnel. They will also provide periodic updates and reports to the EEOC.

“Pregnant workers must be afforded the same rights and benefits as non-pregnant workers. Well-intended as some employers may be, placing special conditions or limits on a worker simply because they are pregnant is against the law,” said Elizabeth M. Cannon, director of EEOC’s Seattle Field Office. “Not only that, but under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which went into effect on June 27, 2023, employers are also required to provide reasonable accommodations to workers who are pregnant, trying to become pregnant, experiencing pregnancy-related medical conditions, or recovering from childbirth, unless it causes an undue hardship.”

The EEOC’s Seattle Field Office has jurisdiction over Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. More information about pregnancy discrimination can be found at https://www.eeoc.gov/pregnancy-discrimination. To learn more about the PWFA, visit https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-pregnant-workers-fairness-act.

The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov.