EEOC Sues Hotel Equities for Pregnancy and Religious Discrimination, Retaliation

CHICAGO - Hotel Equities Group, LLC, a full-service hotel management company providing management, development, and consulting services throughout the United States, violated federal law when it failed to provide pregnancy accommodations to one employee and religious accommodations to another, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today.

According to the EEOC's lawsuit, in 2023, a pregnant front desk clerk at the company's Hilton-branded hotel in Oak Lawn, Illinois requested the ability to sit at the front desk rather than stand due to medical needs related to her pregnancy. Although a coworker initially provided her with a suitable chair, company management later took it away, replaced it with a small, backless stool, and discouraged her from using it. Shortly thereafter, the company discharged her in retaliation for requesting an accommodation, according to the suit.

The lawsuit also charged that in 2023 at the same hotel, a second front desk clerk, who was also an assistant pastor at a Baptist church, requested not to be scheduled for Saturday overnight shifts because it interfered with his ability to attend and sometimes lead services at his church on Sunday mornings. Although the company expressed its approval of his request, in practice it still scheduled him on Saturday night shifts - and continued to do so even after he objected. Not long after, the company retaliated against him by cutting his hours, according to the suit.

"Employees have a right to request and receive religious and pregnancy-related accommodations in the workplace without fear of retaliation," said Catherine Eschbach, acting EEOC General Counsel. "When employers deny lawful accommodations and retaliate against workers for speaking up, the EEOC will take action."

Such alleged conduct violates the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII). The PWFA requires employers to provide reasonable pregnancy-related accommodations for qualified employees who need them, unless the accommodation would be an undue hardship for the employer. Title VII prohibits discrimination based on religion and requires employers to reasonably accommodate an employee's religious beliefs, observance or practice, unless an accommodation would impose an undue hardship. Both statutes prohibit retaliating against employees who ask for reasonable accommodations. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Hotel Equities Group, LLC, Case No. 1:26-cv-01217) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

For more information on pregnancy discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/pregnancy-discrimination . For more information on religious discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/religious-discrimination . For more information on retaliation, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/retaliation .

The EEOC's Chicago District Office has jurisdiction over Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, and North Dakota.

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 .