Polaris Industries to Pay $55,000 in EEOC Pregnancy Suit

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Delaware-based vehicle manufacturer Polaris Industries, Inc. will pay $55,000 and provide other injunctive relief to settle charges of pregnancy discrimination in a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in connection with practices at Polaris’s Huntsville, Alabama facility, the federal agency announced today.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Polaris penalized an employee for pregnancy-related absences and medical appointments. The company also required her to work mandatory overtime despite direction from her physician that she not work over 40 hours per week during her pregnancy. Polaris told the employee that it would terminate her if she accumulated additional attendance points for any reason. Faced with choosing between her job and the health of her unborn child, the employee felt no choice but to resign.

Such alleged conduct violated the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified employees who have communicated limitations arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Polaris Industries, Inc., Case No. 5:24-cv-1305) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama after its Birmingham District office completed an investigation and first attempted to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its voluntary conciliation process.

The consent decree settling the case requires Polaris to pay the employee $55,000 in lost earnings and compensatory damages. Additionally, the two-year decree requires Polaris to take steps to prevent future discrimination by improving their policies and practices and by training their employees on the PWFA.

“The PWFA expanded protections for pregnant workers, and the EEOC will continue to ensure workers receive the benefits it affords,” said EEOC Birmingham District Director Bradley Anderson.

Marsha Rucker, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Birmingham District said, “The PWFA ensures that pregnant employees have the opportunity to seek and receive reasonable accommodations. The EEOC will make sure employers that fall short of this obligation are held accountable.”

Polaris is a Fortune 500 corporation formed in Delaware and headquartered in Medina, Minnesota that manufactures watercraft, snowmobiles, vehicles and motorcycles designed for over-the-road and offroad civilian and military purposes. It has manufacturing plants across the United States and employs 16,000 individuals globally.

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

The EEOC’s Birmingham District consists of Alabama, Mississippi (except 17 northern counties) and the Florida Panhandle.

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 is responsible for investigating charges against state and local government employers before referring them to DOJ for potential litigation. 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. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.