EEOC Sues Call 4 Health Under Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

MIAMI — Call 4 Health, a medical call center in Delray Beach, Florida, violated federal law when it failed to provide a class of female employees leave for childbirth as a reasonable accommodation, and instead required them to resign and reapply for their positions once medically cleared to work, resulting in their terminations, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today.

According to the EEOC’s suit, Call 4 Health denied multiple pregnant employees’ requests for leave in 2023 and 2024 because the women did not qualify for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The company failed to separately consider whether the requested leave constituted a reasonable accommodation under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA).

“Employers need to be aware of their obligations under the PWFA to provide reasonable accommodations,” said Evangeline Hawthorne, director of the EEOC’s Miami District. “No worker should have to choose between childbirth and employment.”

This alleged conduct violated the PWFA, which requires employers to reasonably accommodate employees’ and applicants’ known limitations related to pregnancy and childbirth, absent undue hardship, including leave as an accommodation where appropriate. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Call 4 Health, Case No. 9:26-cv-81333) in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida after first trying to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

Kristen Foslid, regional attorney for the EEOC Miami District, said, “An employee does not have to qualify for FMLA leave to be entitled to a reasonable accommodation under the PWFA. The EEOC will demand compliance with the PWFA in court when necessary.”

For more information about the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-pregnant-workers-fairness-act. For more information on pregnancy discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/pregnancy-discrimination.

The EEOC’s Miami District Office has jurisdiction over Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov.