US Agency Agrees to $45 Million Settlement After Alleged Discrimination Against Pregnant Workers

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists inspect flowers in a file image. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency has agreed to pay $45 million to settle a lawsuit brought by pregnant employees, according to lawyers for the workers.

Attorneys representing more than 1,000 pregnant CBP employees hammered out the settlement, which includes the presumption moving forward that pregnant workers can keep serving in their position, lawyers with Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll said.

CBP regularly reassigned officers and agriculture specialists to light duty after learning of their pregnancies instead of letting them continue doing their jobs, according to a complaint filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

“Announcing my pregnancy to my colleagues and supervisor should have been a happy occasion—but it quickly became clear that such news was not welcome. The assumption was that I could no longer effectively do my job, just because I was pregnant,” Roberta Gabaldon, lead plaintiff in the case, said in a statement. “It was traumatizing, frustrating, and demoralizing,”

A judge found evidence that the agency did not analyze whether employees could remain in their positions and that shifting them to light duty resulted in the workers losing opportunities for overtime, additional training, and use of a firearm.

The judge certified a class-action suit, a decision affirmed by an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission official in 2023.

Pregnant employees who were shifted to light duty since July 2016 were eligible to join the class.

More than 1,000 workers met the requirements, according to their lawyers.

The settlement, in addition to the $45 million and the policy of not automatically shifting pregnant workers to light duty, provides a list of accommodations for pregnant employees and mandatory training for managers and supervisors on the rights of pregnant workers. It also enables pregnant employees currently on light duty to return to their normal jobs.

“In one of the premier law enforcement agencies in our country, it is very troubling that pregnant officers and specialists were disadvantaged solely because of their pregnancy,” Joseph Sellers, partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, said in a statement.

“Fortunately, this settlement will provide significant relief to victims of this unlawful practice and, with the CBP’s adoption of reforms negotiated in this settlement, CBP should become a leader among law enforcement agencies in providing equal opportunities for pregnant employees to thrive and be regarded as equally capable of performing their jobs as their non-pregnant colleagues.”

The settlement was reached by the parties but still must receive final approval from a judge, according to the legal firm. Final approval is expected in September.

CBP did not respond to a request for comment.