Trucking Company Settles Pregnancy Discrimination Lawsuit

Wabash National Corp., a nationwide producer of semi-trailers and other commercial trucking equipment and headquartered in Lafayette, Indiana, will pay $50,000 and provide other relief to settle a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced.

The EEOC’s suit charged that Wabash National’s facility in Cadiz, Kentucky denied a pregnant employee’s accommodation request to transfer to a role that did not require lying on her stomach. Instead, the company forced the employee to take unpaid leave and ultimately gave her no choice but to return to her position as an assembler without modification.

Wabash National’s decision to deny the accommodation request caused the employee to fear for the health of her pregnancy, the EEOC said, and she was forced to resign at nearly eight months pregnant in November 2023.

The company also unlawfully required the employee to provide medical documentation and failed to accommodate her even though it could have provided changes similar to those the company provides for non-pregnant workers with similar limitations, according to the suit.

The alleged conduct violates the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (ADA).

Source: EEOC