On Tuesday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Board of Education for discriminating against pregnant teachers at Scammon Elementary School.
The DOJ charges that the board “subjected [teachers] to adverse personnel actions, including termination in some instances, after they announced their pregnancies.” Beginning in 2009, it claims that Scammon’s principal fired teachers and threatened to fire them because of their pregnancies and that the board approved six firings of recently pregnancy teachers while forcing two others to leave. The principal also allegedly gave female teachers lower performance evaluations and disciplined them.
The Chicago Board of Education did not immediately return a request for comment.
The school’s actions would violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on pregnancy and childbirth. The DOJ is seeking a court order requiring the board to implement policies that would prevent pregnancy discrimination against employees as well as monetary damages and compensation for the teachers who were harmed.
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