From Pacific Business News:
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing Kaiser Permanente Hawaii for allegedly discriminating against a pregnant nurse in 2003.
The commission filed suit Wednesday under the 1964 Civil Rights Act alleging that a nursing supervisor at Kaiser’s Wailuku Clinic on Maui withdrew an offer for promotion less than 24 hours after Margaret McIlroy disclosed that she was pregnant.
McIlroy joined Kaiser as a labor and delivery registered nurse in Baldwin Park, Calif. in 1998. In early June 2003, she applied for a promotion as director of obstetrics and pediatrics at the Wailuku clinic, where she was supposed to start on July 28, 2003.
A family medical emergency delayed her transfer until October 2004. McIlroy says she confirmed an Oct. 1 start date with a Wailuku nursing manager on Sept. 11, 2003 and the following day disclosed her pregnancy to a labor relations consultant who informed her manager.
“This is one of the stronger cases of pregnancy discrimination,” said William Tamayo, regional attorney for the commission’s San Francisco District. “The timing between Ms. McIlroy’s announcement of her pregnancy and the withdrawal of the job offer reveals an unmistakable discriminatory motivation.”
The commission filed the suit after the parties failed to reach a settlement and is seeking back pay, lost wages, out-of-pocket expenses, compensatory and punitive damages and other injunctive relief.
Kaiser Thrive Exposed would like to personally thank Dr. Geoff Galbraith - Kaiser Permanente Care Management Institute board member; and Vice President, Hawaii Permanente Medical Group, Quality Improvement Management - for inspiring us to create this website. Did we make it into the top 5?
[...] [editor: The following email from a former Kaiser Permanente Northwest employee who suffered racial discrimination in her position at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Oregon, was received by us quite some time ago, but somehow got lost in our inbox. Our apologies to Ms. Bell. In other news, the Margaret McIlroy pregnancy discrimination case went to court in Honolulu on February 14, 2006 after the judge wondered why Kaiser wanted to settle out of court for a pittance. Never forget who is paying for Kaiser to defend these lawsuits: Member premiums and co-pays.] [...]