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Press Release

EEOC SUES CTI GLOBAL SOLUTIONS FOR PREGNANCY DISCRIMINATION

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

PRESS RELEASE
9-30-09

Staffing Company Terminated Women Because of Pregnancy, Federal Agency Says

BALTIMORE – CTI Global Solutions Inc., a staffing agency headquartered in Largo, Md., violated federal law when it terminated a group of employees because of their pregnancy, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today.

"More than 30 years after the passage of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the EEOC has seen a sharp increase in the number of pregnancy discrimination charges filed nationwide," said Debra Lawrence, acting regional attorney of the EEOC's Philadelphia District Office, which oversees Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, and parts of New Jersey and Ohio. "It was not only unfair for CTI Global to fire these women because of pregnancy, it was obviously illegal. The EEOC is filing this suit to remind employers they must implement policies and practices to prevent pregnancy discrimination or face the consequences."

When CTI Global removed Rita Tolliver from company training for a job placement as a file clerk with the FBI, the company's chief financial officer told her that the file clerk position was a "risk" to her because of her pregnancy, the EEOC charges in its lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Southern Division (Civil Action No---). The company refused to reconsider even though Tolliver offered to provide medical documentation that she could in fact perform the job.

The company also removed Alfre Juanita Tilsdale from her work assignment with the FBI due to her pregnancy. The EEOC says that CTI Global's operations manager told Tilsdale that based on "past experiences" it "would not be fair" to continue her assignment. Similarly, the EEOC alleges that the staffing company removed Anje Proctor from her placement with the FBI because a company manager told her it would be "unsafe" for her to hold her position while pregnant. The EEOC charges that the company failed to give the women alternate work placements, thereby terminating their employment.

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978. The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to reach a voluntary settle­ment. The EEOC seeks injunctive relief to prevent future discrimination and back pay, compensatory damages and punitive damages to compensate the class members for their losses and emotional harm.

Workplace discrimination charge filings with the EEOC nationwide rose to an unprecedented level of 95,402 during Fiscal Year 2008 -- a 15 percent increase from the previous fiscal year. Pregnancy charges increased 12 percent to a record high level of 6,285 in FY 2008.

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.

This page was last modified on October 2, 2009.