Dillard's, a national department store chain headquartered in Arkansas, paid $70,000 to settle a federal lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), on behalf of a pregnant, Black employee was allegedly subjected to discrimination and retaliation.

According to the EEOC press release, the negative employment actions taken against the targeted employee included rescinding a pregnancy-related accommodation, transferring the employee, reducing her hours, and ultimately firing her in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

A specific allegation is described in the release as follows:

When Dillard's began to recall employees back from a COVID-19 pandemic-related furlough in April 2020, the sales associate was not asked to return to work. In August 2020, the sales associate was fired.  

The settlement includes not only the monetary damages, but also employee training on Title VII and retaliation, policy reviews, and monitoring of retaliation complaints by the EEOC.

Commentary and Checklist

If an organization grants an accommodation and later rescinds the same accommodation without proof of a legitimate undue hardship, a heightened exposure to equal employment litigation is created.

Once granted, a reasonable accommodation is considered an opportunity of employment. Deprivation of an opportunity of employment, even though that opportunity is often exclusive to one individual in the workforce, is unlawful, if the reason is discriminatory.

Another litigation trigger is refusing to rehire qualified staff after a furlough. Failure to rehire a former employee because of their protected status after a furlough is considered a denial of an employment opportunity.

There are other opportunities of employment that when granted, and then denied, can trigger litigation, including:

·      Work environment/location

·      Work hours/shifts

·      Overtime

·      Job assignments

·      Hiring

·      Promotions

·      Training

·      Accommodations

·      Benefits

·      Salary

·      Retirement

·      Housing

·      Other personal allowances, like use of a vehicle, uniforms, parking