When faced with a lawsuit, being able to demonstrate solid attempts to work with employees to provide accommodations can go a long way. Jon Hyman, a labor and employment partner at Kohrman Jackson & Krantz, discusses a sex and pregnancy discrimination suit on the Ohio Employer’s Law Blog in which the employer prevailed after attempting to resolve the employee conflict.
Hyman says plaintiff Angela Ames alleged that Nationwide Mutual Insurance discriminated against her by not providing a room where she could lactate. The company has a policy requiring employees to complete paperwork to gain badge access to its lactation rooms, which tooks three days to process. Ames never filled out the paperwork. He says a company nurse offered to expedite the request, suggesting she use a wellness room temporarily. Ames quit after being told there was a 15- to 20-minute wait for that room.
