A federal complaint was filed Wednesday against Wal-mart, the nation's largest employer of women, for its discriminatory treatment of pregnant workers. In the complaint provided to The Daily Beast, Candis Riggins states that in early March 2014 she was more than 20 weeks pregnant and getting nauseous from the harsh chemicals she used to clean bathrooms at the superstore’s Laurel, Maryland location. While she claims her Walmart moved a coworker, “Bob,” who had a back injury, to a door greeter position to accommodate his physical needs, she did not receive such assistance during her pregnancy. After weeks of asking to be moved from cleaning, Riggins says in her suit she was finally allowed to be a door greeter around April 20. She sat at a stool at the entrance, but “a co-manager told her she could not sit on the stool, despite the fact that injured workers were allowed to use stools while working as greeters,” her complaint states. Wal-Mart terminated her in May.
Riggins’ suit is not the first allegation that Wal-Mart discriminates against pregnant workers. In March, a class-action lawsuit was brought against the retailer for failing to provide “reasonable accommodations” for pregnant workers. The retailer subsequently revised its work policies to accommodate temporary disabilities resulting from pregnancy, but Riggins’ case suggest Walmart has not lived up to its promises.
Read it at Maryland Commission on Human Relations
