Long Island-Based Company Fired Employee Shortly After Learning of Pregnancy, Federal Agency Charged
NEW YORK – Cassone Leasing, Inc., a Ronkonkoma, Long Island-based company that leases and sells office trailers and storage containers, will pay $85,000 and furnish other relief to settle a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Cassone summarily dismissed an employee upon learning that she was pregnant. Cassone hired the employee in early April 2018, when she was approximately 12 weeks pregnant. At that time, her pregnancy was not visible, and she did not disclose it to Cassone. On May 10, 2018, Cassone gave the employee her 30-day review, rating her performance as an “89,” which was just one point shy of “Excellent.” Despite this, Cassone fired her on May 14, 2018 – one week after a pregnancy-related absence and less than one week after she disclosed her pregnancy to human resources. The following day, Cassone replaced her with a non-pregnant employee.
Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which prohibits discrimination because of pregnancy.
The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Cassone Leasing, Inc., Civil Action No. 2:19-cv-3721) in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The case was litigated by Trial Attorneys Renay Oliver and Christina Piaia and Supervisory Trial Attorney Nora Curtin.
The settlement follows a November 2021 ruling by the Court denying Cassone’s motion for summary judgment and finding that the evidence against Cassone warranted a trial.
In addition to the monetary relief, the two-year consent decree resolving the suit requires Cassone to provide anti-discrimination and harassment training; revise its equal employment opportunity policies to include a more robust complaint and investigation procedure, as well as a new provision on pregnancy-related accommodations; and report complaints of sex discrimination, including pregnancy and harassment, to the EEOC. The EEOC will monitor Cassone’s compliance with these obligations for the next two years.
“Pregnant employees must be afforded equal treatment in the workplace,” said Jeffrey Burstein, regional attorney for the EEOC’s New York District. “The EEOC is committed to vigorously enforcing pregnancy discrimination laws and eradicating discriminatory treatment of pregnant employees.”
Judy Keenan, director of the EEOC’s New York District, added, “As pregnancy discrimination in the workplace persists, the EEOC remains steadfast in protecting pregnant employees from workplace discrimination and ensuring that robust policies are in place to secure the rights of all employees.”
The EEOC’s New York District Office is responsible for addressing discrimination charges and conducting agency litigation in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, northern New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vermont.
You can learn more about pregnancy discrimination at https://www.eeoc.gov/pregnancy-discrimination.
The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov.
