ST. LOUIS — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Wednesday that it has sued a St. Louis construction firm that violated federal law when it refused to hire an applicant for a receptionist job because she was pregnant.
The EEOC said The Harlan Co. interviewed the applicant and decided she was the best qualified person for the position. It offered her the job and confirmed a start date, EEOC said. The next day, Harlan Co. learned she was pregnant, and one day later it revoked the job offer and hired another person who was not pregnant, it alleged.
EEOC's suit seeks monetary damages for the applicant, an order prohibiting future discriminatory conduct against pregnant individuals and other relief.
The company didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
L. Jack Vasquez, director of the EEOC's St. Louis district office, said in a statement that "pregnancy discrimination in the workplace harms women and their entire families."
EEOC is the federal agency that oversees enforcement of civil rights laws against workplace discrimination.
