Security company Allied Universal agrees to $110,000 lawsuit settle for discrimination
Charlotte NC March 10 2021
In a lawsuit settlement, a security contract company has agreed to pay $110,000 to end a lawsuit brought by one of its former security officers.
Security company Allied Universal agreed to pay $110,000 to end a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit brought on behalf of a security guard who the agency said was given tougher duties and was eventually fired after becoming pregnant.
Under the three-year consent decree settling the suit entered March 5, 2021, Allied Universal will pay the security guard $110,000 in back pay and damages and will also conduct training and provide regular reports to the EEOC.
This is the second private security company that has had lawsuits filed against them by female employees because of violating federal law.
Simmons Security and Protective Services, a private security service in Kansas City, Kansas violated federal law by firing a newly hired employee when it learned she was pregnant, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed in 2020.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Simmons hired Lakisha Cole to work as an unarmed security guard patrolling downtown Kansas City on foot and by bicycle. Simmons did not know Cole was pregnant when they hired her. Shortly after Cole started working, Simmons learned from a co-worker Cole was pregnant. The EEOC alleges the company called Cole in and told her she could not work because it wasn’t “safe,” even though Cole was medically able to perform the job.
Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which protects workers from discrimination based on sex, including pregnancy. The EEOC filed its lawsuit (EEOC v. Simmons Sec. and Prot. Serv., Inc., Civil Action No. 2:18-cv-02218) in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation resolution through the agency’s conciliation process. The Commission’s suit seeks monetary and injunctive relief for Cole, as well as injunctive relief to prevent similar discrimination in the future.
“All too often, pregnant workers are denied employment opportunities based on stereotypes and assumptions regarding their abilities,” said Andrea G. Baran, regional attorney for the EEOC’s St. Louis District. “This is simply unlawful employment discrimination.”
James R. Neely, Jr., director of the EEOC’s St. Louis District, said, “Discrimination against pregnant workers cannot be justified by unfounded claims that it is for the workers’ protection and benefit. Pregnant workers – just like other workers – need an equal opportunity to work to support themselves and their growing families.”
