Federal Lawsuit Charges Company Failed to Hire Pregnant Woman

DALLAS – Dallas Barber and Stylist College, Inc., which operates a barber shop and school in Dallas, violated federal civil rights law when it failed to hire an applicant as a hair braider because she was pregnant, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.

According to the suit, a pregnant woman applied for a hair braider position and performed a skills test for Dallas Barber with satisfactory results, but the company’s owner then informed the applicant that it already had a pregnant employee and did not want two pregnant women at its school. The lawsuit alleges Dallas Barber indicated it did not want to deal with the pregnant woman’s “condition,” referring to her pregnancy.

Such alleged conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination because of sex including discrimination based on pregnancy. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Dallas Barber and Stylist College, Incorporated, case no. 3:24-cv-02296-S) in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

“The law requires that employers provide women an equal opportunity to enter the workforce irrespective of their pregnancy status,” said EEOC Birmingham District Director Bradley Anderson. “The EEOC is ready to defend victims of pregnancy discrimination.”

Marsha Rucker, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Birmingham District, said, “Federal law guarantees all employees equal employment opportunity regardless of their sex or pregnancy status. As the federal agency charged with enforcing Title VII, the EEOC will take employers to task when they discriminate against workers because of pregnancy.”

For more information on pregnancy discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/pregnancy-discrimination .

The EEOC’s Birmingham District Office has jurisdiction over Alabama, the Florida Panhandle, and Mississippi, except 17 northern counties.

The EEOC prevents and remedies unlawful employment discrimination and advances equal opportunity for all. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov.