Providence faces state lawsuit over accommodations for pregnant workers
May 15-Washington state filed a lawsuit against Providence Health and Services earlier this week over alleged employment violations that the Attorney General's Office referred to as "bitterly ironic."
"Thousands of pregnant patients go to Providence facilities for prenatal visits that keep them and their pregnancies safe, but Providence denied its employees the opportunity to attend their own prenatal visits," wrote Attorney General Office staff in a recent news release.
Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown and his office announced on Wednesday that the state had filed suit against Providence. The suit, which will play out in King County Superior Court, alleges that the major health care nonprofit regularly failed to provide legally required accommodations to pregnant and nursing employees.
"Patients at Providence Swedish's First Hill campus can use a state-of-the-art facility to help new parents with breastfeeding, but Providence's own employees were denied adequate time and convenient, private spaces to express breast milk," reads the release.
According to the announcement, the Attorney General's Office has investigated violations stretching back to 2021. Based on its findings, the state believes that Providence provided the accommodations the state requires be available to pregnant and nursing employees "on paper" but failed or actively refused to implement them in a meaningful way.
Accommodations for pregnant and nursing employees under RCW 43.10.005 require employers with 15 or more employees to comply. Under the law, employers with 15 or more employees are required to allow more frequent breaks for rest, nursing or other health needs. They are required to excuse employees from lifting 17 pounds or more and allow changes in assignments or schedules to accommodate physical restrictions or doctors appointments associated with the pregnancy.
According to the announcement from the Attorney General's Office, the complaint also alleges that the company actively retaliated against employees who requested accommodations by terminating them, forcing them to take time off or giving them more difficult assignments,
"Taking commonsense steps to keep pregnant and nursing employees and their babies safe and healthy isn't optional - it's the law," Brown said in the statement. "A health care provider like Providence should know better."
Along with operating the largest medical facility in Lewis County, Providence is the largest health care provider in the entire state of Washington. Information from the Attorney General's Office states that the company operates at least 35 facilities in the state, including hospitals and outpatient facilities.
That state asks that any employees who face pregnancy discrimination while employed by Providence or an affiliated company such as Swedish, Kadlec or PacMed, contact its office. The office's civil rights division is available through email at ProvidencePregnancyLawsuit@atg.wa.gov or over the phone at 833-660-4877. Former and current employees can file an online complaint at https://tinyurl.com/mwbm68ym.
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