Justice Department Settles with Hertford County, N.C., Involving Pregnancy Discrimination

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that it has resolved a lawsuit alleging that Kimberly Sathoff was subjected to pregnancy discrimination by the Hertford County, N.C., Public Health Authority, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The complaint, which was filed along with a consent Decree in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, alleges that the health authority discriminated against Ms. Sathoff on the basis of her sex by when the authority’s former health director rescinded an offer of employment and failed to hire Ms. Sathoff for a position with the health authority once the health director found out she was pregnant.   

Under the terms of the consent decree, the health authority will implement policies and procedures that prohibit sex discrimination, including pregnancy discrimination, and provide training to all health authority employees with hiring responsibilities and all supervisors on the law of equal employment opportunity, including discrimination based on sex.  Additionally, the health authority will pay Ms. Sathoff a $20,000 monetary award.

“A woman should not be regarded as unable to perform a job simply by virtue of her pregnancy. The Department of Justice is committed to protecting the employment rights of women,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.

The enforcement of Title VII is a top priority of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  Additional information about the Civil Rights Division and its work is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt.