Washington Attorney General files lawsuit against hospital over treatment of pregnant employees

Washington Attorney General Nick Brown filed a lawsuit May 13 against Providence Health & Services, a hospital system in the state. The suit alleges that the hospital system failed to provide suitable accommodations for pregnant and nursing employees — including failing to give employees time off so that they could attend prenatal appointments.

Key Takeaways:

• Washington Attorney General Nick Brown has filed a lawsuit against Providence Health & Services, the largest health care provider in the state.

• The suit alleges pregnant and nursing employees were not granted accommodations as required by law.

• It also says these employees were denied the ability to attend prenatal appointments and the chance to sit more frequently, and were not granted a reprieve from heavy lifting.

• The suit maintains that employees who sought reasonable accommodations were retaliated against.

The Details:

According to a press release from Brown's office, the suit follows an investigation dating back to 2021, in which employees, including many nurses, were not granted appropriate accommodations as required by state law under the Healthy Starts Act and the Washington Law Against Discrimination. The release explains:

Even when Providence granted an accommodation on paper, Providence often failed or refused to implement the accommodation, denying employees the ability to sit more frequently in jobs that otherwise required standing, schedule flexibility for prenatal visits, limits on heavy lifting, and a private space to express breast milk. 

The suit also alleges Providence violated state law by retaliating against employees who sought reasonable accommodations by terminating them, forcing them to go on leave, or assigning them to more difficult duties.

The lawsuit alleges that employees had to "wait several weeks or a month" for the hospital to respond to pregnancy accommodation requests, with many forced to continue working without any interim accommodations while requests were pending. It also alleges that the hospital routinely denied accommodation requests and engaged in sex discrimination against pregnant employees.

“Taking commonsense steps to keep pregnant and nursing employees and their babies safe and healthy isn’t optional—it’s the law,” said Brown. “A health care provider like Providence should know better.”

Zoom In:

Providence Health is reportedly the largest health care provider in Washington state, with more than 35 hospitals and various outpatient facilities.

The Attorney General's release notes that though the hospital system offers prenatal care and breastfeeding support, it failed to ensure its own employees received the necessary care they needed.

Some of the accommodations denied to Providence employees were 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.

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. 

Following the news of the lawsuit, the Washington State Nurses Association put out a statement "applauding" Brown for his efforts.

"These are dreadful allegations that go against everything we believe as nurses and as a union," the statement said. "Pregnant workers and their partners deserve every support for the health of themselves and their babies."

The Bottom Line:

Pregnant and nursing mothers deserve full support and accommodations — especially from a health care provider.