Office Concepts Inc., a Fort Wayne, Ind., office product and service store, will pay $45,000 and provide other relief to settle a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced.
EEOC’s suit charged that Office Concepts, which provides machines, supplies and service to customers in northern Indiana and northwestern Ohio, fired Lynsey Burd after she informed her manager of her pregnancy.
Burd’s final task, as it turned out, was to train a new employee, EEOC said. Burd finished training the new employee, and Office Concepts terminated her the next business day. Immediately after firing Burd, Office Concepts hired another new employee. Neither new employee was pregnant, EEOC said.
Pregnancy discrimination violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. EEOC filed suit (Civil Action No. 1:14-cv-290) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana after trying to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
The company denied the allegations, but, under the consent decree approved by U.S. District Court Judge Rudy Lozano, agreed to pay $45,000 to Burd. In addition, Office Concepts will distribute a new non-discrimination policy to all employees, attend three training sessions led by EEOC, and submit compliance reports to the agency during the decree’s two-year term.
Source: EEOC
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Four Georgia Troopers Fired in Vehicle Pursuit-Insurance Scheme 
State Farm Paid a ‘Hail’ of a Lot of Claims in 2025 
State High Court Weighs in on Woman Taken for Organ Donation But Was Still Alive 
Hedge Fund Money Is Reshaping a 180-Year-Old Insurance Model 
