Can an Employer Be Found to Have Unlawfully Discriminated Against An Employee When It Did Not Know The Employee Was In the Protected Group?

Photo by Thomas Pompernigg

Yes.

For example, an employer might discriminate against a woman employee by way of “pregnancy discrimination,” which is unlawful, even when the employer does not actually know the employee is pregnant.

Thus held the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit this month, partially reversing U.S. District Court Judge Joan N. Ericksen’s grant of summary judgment for defendant Fairview Health Services. “Title VII, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, … prohibits an employer from discriminating against a woman because of her capacity to become pregnant.”