article: On September 30, 2003, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed suit in the Wichita U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas against O'Reilly Automotive, Inc., (doing business as O'Reilly Auto Parts) on behalf of a female employee. According to the EEOC, O'Reilly Automotive violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, by forcing the pregnant employee, an assistant manager whose doctor had imposed a 30-pound lifting restriction, to take unpaid leave and subsequently firing her. The EEOC sought its costs and monetary and injunctive relief for the employee, including policy reform, backpay, reinstatement, medical expenses, compensation for emotional harm, and punitive damages. The parties reached a settlement, which the Court (Judge Wesley E. Brown) entered as a consent decree on June 17, 2004. The 2-year decree provided $50,000 in monetary relief ($15,000 in lost wages and $35,000 in compensatory damages), subject to execution of a release of claims. The decree also provided for up to $200 for the employee to consult an attorney before signing the release. Under the injunctive provisions of the decree, O'Reilly Automotive was required to provide a positive reference, to adopt and distribute anti-pregnancy-discrimination policies to managers and supervisors, to provide equal employment training to all managers and supervisors, to post a pregnancy discrimination notice, and to report to the EEOC every 6 months about employees who took pregnancy-related leave, including whether the leave was voluntary, whether the employee was terminated, and why. The parties bore their own costs. No further court activity appears on the docket and the case is now closed.
summary: On September 30, 2003, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed suit in the Wichita U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas against O'Reilly Automotive, Inc., (doing business as O'Reilly Auto Parts) on behalf of a female employee. According to the EEOC, O'Reilly Automotive violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, by forcing the pregnant employee, an assistant manager whose doctor had imposed a 30-pound lifting restriction, to take unpaid leave and subsequently firing her. The parties entered into a 2-year consent decree, which provided the employee with $50,000 ($15,000 in lost wages and $35,000 in compensatory damages) and subjected O'Reilly Automotive to an array of injunctive provisions. The case is now closed.