The high cost of fumbling woman’s accommodation request: $25 million

One organization just found out the hard way that it’s never a good idea to drag your feet on a woman’s request for a pregnancy accommodation.

After the company refused to let a crew member work from home during her high-risk pregnancy, the staffer went into premature labor and delivered a baby that died within 90 minutes. The estate of her child brought a wrongful death lawsuit against the employer and a jury awarded $25 million to the estate.

Ouch!

Because you don’t want your organization to be on the losing end of a similar lawsuit, it’s important to respond promptly and effectively when a staffer seeks an accommodation for her pregnancy.

Acknowledge the accommodation request right away and let her know that you’ll get back to her as quickly as you can.

Then ask the woman about her pregnancy limitations and some details about her requested accommodation, in order to gain a better understanding of how her needs can mesh with your operational requirements.

While you can require medical documentation, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to spend too much time on the paperwork. After all, the woman’s condition is either obvious or soon will be. The documentation is more relevant should the staffer have a pregnancy-related complication,

It’s preferable to allow the employee to remain working for as long as possible, assuming she can keep her baby safe while doing so; defaulting to unpaid leave oftentimes creates problems if the woman can’t afford the drop in pay or prefers to stay working until she’s closer to her due date.

Also be willing to offer accommodations on an interim basis. These can include remote work, scheduling adjustments, light-duty assignments and temporary job modifications.

(From the October 2, 2026, issue of HR Manager’s Legal Alert for Supervisors. To start your no-obligation trial subscription to the publication right now, please click here.)