Catholic health system sued by regulators over alleged failure to accommodate pregnant nurses
The state of Washington has filed a lawsuit against a not-for-profit Catholic health system, alleging it ran afoul of labor policies pertaining to the treatment of employees who are pregnant or nursing, including nurses and other staff. The defendant allegedly failed to provide reasonable workplace accommodations, as required by law.
That defendant is Providence Health and Services, a Catholic-identified entity that is also one of the larger health systems in the Western U.S., operating 51 hospitals and more than 800 clinics and patient care centers.
According to the complaint filed by Washington Attorney General Nick Brown’s office, incidents of noncompliance at Providence aren't a new problem. Examples listed in the lawsuit date back to 2021, with regulators alleging the health system regularly and routinely outright refused to accommodate its maternal staff, even when given specific requests to do so.
It’s alleged that leadership often required a provider letter for accommodations related to breastfeeding and limited duties. If true, that would violate state law, Brown’s office said.
Employees say their jobs were at risk
As part of a 12-page complaint, it’s alleged that workers experienced retaliation for “requesting a pregnancy accommodation,” and were similarly treated with “hostility by supervisors for making their accommodation request.”
Some clinicians and other staff were terminated or constructively discharged after seeking pregnancy accommodations, Brown’s office says.
“Taking commonsense steps to keep pregnant and nursing employees and their babies safe and healthy isn’t optional—it’s the law,” Brown said in a statement. “A healthcare provider like Providence should know better.”
In response, Providence said it attempted to resolve the complaint when approached with the allegations, but those negotiations fell through.
The health system denies wrongdoing—and denies it violated any laws.
“We remain committed to working in good faith to reach an appropriate resolution of any issues and are disappointed by the State’s focus on litigation rather than collaborative efforts to help caregivers,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “We care deeply about providing a safe, supportive workplace for parents, including paid parental leave benefits, pregnancy-related accommodations and the necessary flexibility when parents return to work after the birth—or adoption—of a child.”
The lawsuit was filed on May 13 and is still pending. It has yet to be reviewed by a judge.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.