Florida company fired new hire after learning she was pregnant, EEOC alleges

Florida company fired new hire after learning she was pregnant, EEOC alleges

Summary

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued iPro Dental Laboratory, alleging the Fort Lauderdale dental manufacturer fired a newly hired office assistant three days after learning she was pregnant. The employee had left early the day after starting to attend a previously approved OB‑GYN appointment; the general manager asked whether she was pregnant and, after she said yes, terminated her shortly afterwards, the EEOC complaint says. The company reportedly told the worker it was cutting back on expenses, though the complaint alleges the employer’s financial situation did not change and the employee performed her duties satisfactorily.

The EEOC brought the claim under Title VII as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. The complaint leans on temporal proximity — the close timing between disclosure and firing — and inconsistencies in the employer’s stated reason as evidence of discrimination. The article also outlines how timing and contradictory employer explanations are commonly used in pregnancy‑discrimination cases to establish an inference of unlawful motive.

Key Points

• The employee left early for a pre‑approved OB‑GYN appointment the day after starting work and disclosed her pregnancy to management.
• EEOC alleges iPro fired the worker three days after learning of the pregnancy and gave an expense‑cutting reason that the complaint disputes.
• The lawsuit invokes Title VII and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act; pregnancy may not be a motivating factor in adverse employment actions.
• Close timing between disclosure and termination (temporal proximity) can help create an inference of discrimination.
• The complaint points to lack of disciplinary history and continued satisfactory performance to challenge the employer’s stated rationale.

Why should I read this?

Short version: if you manage people or do HR, this is a neat, quick reminder of what not to do. Pregnancy disclosures + quick firings = big legal headaches. It shows how a manager’s offhand question and a rapid, poorly explained termination can turn into an EEOC lawsuit. Read it to spot the red flags and sharpen your paperwork and processes before a simple situation becomes costly.

Source

Source: https://www.hrdive.com/news/florida-dental-company-pregnancy-discrimination-eeoc/761354/