EEOC Sues Roundy’s Supermarkets for Pregnancy Discrimination and ADA Violation

MADISON, Wis. - Roundy's Supermarkets, Inc., a grocery chain operating Pick 'n Save and Metro Market stores, violated federal law when it fired an employee, who was also a nursing mother, for requesting an accommodation at her workstation to maintain her breast milk supply, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today.

According to the suit, the cake decorator asked to keep a water bottle at her workstation to maintain her milk supply. Roundy's Pick 'n Save location in Madison initially accommodated the request. However, after Roundy's transferred the employee to a Metro Market store in Shorewood Hills in June 2024, management refused the workstation water accommodation, leading to decline in her milk supply.

When she continued her requests for an accommodation, the company insisted she sign a release authorizing the company to access her private medical records. Ultimately, the company fired her rather than permit her to keep a water bottle at her workstation, the suit said.

"The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ensures that pregnant workers receive reasonable accommodations needed to protect their health and remain employed," said Catherine L. Eschbach, acting EEOC general counsel. "Providing a nursing mother with access to water is a simple, commonsense measure that supports both maternal and infant health. No worker should be forced to choose between her job and safely breastfeeding her child."

This alleged conduct violated the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which requires employers to engage in the interactive process to accommodate employees' pregnancy-related limitations, and prohibits employers from terminating workers because of their need for an accommodation. This conduct also violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the EEOC asserted, by demanding access to the employee's medical records without job-related justification.

The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Roundy's Supermarkets, Inc., Case No. 3:26-cv-00241) in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

The PWFA went into effect on June 27, 2023. Resources for employees, employers, and healthcare providers are available at: https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-pregnant-workers-fairness-act .

For more information on pregnancy discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/pregnancy-discrimination . For more information on the ADA, please see https://www.eeoc.gov/statutes/titles-i-and-v-americans-disabilities-act-1990-ada .

The EEOC's Chicago District Office has jurisdiction over Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and North and South Dakota, with Area Offices in Milwaukee and Minneapolis.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government's employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov .