Two pregnant Fred Meyer employees at a Vancouver store who asked for help dealing with severe morning sickness were instead disciplined and fired, federal watchdogs allege in a lawsuit filed Wednesday.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says store managers repeatedly refused accommodations that could have helped the women stay on the job. The agency alleges Fred Meyer violated a federal law requiring employers to accommodate pregnancy-related limitations, such as allowing more bathroom breaks or modifying job duties.
Fred Meyer, headquartered in Portland and owned by Cincinnati-based Kroger, operates 126 stores across Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska.
One of the workers, Samantha Pennington, worked about 40 hours a week as a clerk and cashier. After becoming pregnant in spring 2023, she began missing work because of severe nausea and vomiting, according to the lawsuit.
After Pennington explained that her absences were caused by her pregnancy, store managers continued to discipline her for missing work, the EEOC alleges. They cut her hours and later suspended her without pay for a week. When Pennington offered to provide doctor’s notes explaining her pregnancy-related absences, a human resources manager told her “not to bother.”
Pennington also asked to move to a position without cash register duties so she could get to a restroom more quickly when she felt sick, but managers denied the request. By August 2023, her schedule had fallen from about 40 hours a week to 25, the suit says. That month, she brought in a doctor’s note asking Fred Meyer to excuse two pregnancy-related absences, but the human resources manager refused to accept it, the suit says.
On Oct. 18 of that year, Pennington requested time off that December to give birth and recover. Fred Meyer fired her later that day, citing excessive absences, the lawsuit alleges.
The EEOC says another pregnant employee at the same store was also penalized for missing work because of severe morning sickness. In September 2023, the employee, whom the agency did not name, gave Fred Meyer medical documentation asking for more frequent bathroom breaks and to have pregnancy-related absences excused. The company later suspended her without pay without discussing other ways to accommodate her, according to the lawsuit.
Later that month, she asked to transfer to a store closer to her new home. Fred Meyer denied the request and fired her, the lawsuit alleges.
Fred Meyer declined to comment on the lawsuit and allegations. Spokesperson Tiffany Sanders said the company does not comment on active litigation.
The allegations came as new federal protections for pregnant workers were taking effect. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which became law in June 2023, requires most employers with at least 15 workers to make reasonable accommodations to help pregnant employees stay on the job, unless doing so would place an unreasonable burden on the employer.
Those can include more restroom breaks, modified schedules, or duties or time off for pregnancy-related needs. In this case, the EEOC says Fred Meyer could have excused some of the women’s absences, provided additional bathroom breaks and reassigned Pennington to a job with easier restroom access.
“An employer may not ignore an employee’s clear, repeated request for pregnancy accommodation or refuse to consider notes from the employee’s health care providers,” Elizabeth Cannon, director of the EEOC’s Seattle field office, said in a statement.
The EEOC filed the suit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington after an unsuccessful attempt to resolve the case with Fred Meyer outside court. The agency is seeking back pay and other damages for the women, along with changes to Fred Meyer’s employment practices.
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