Border Agency Settles Lawsuit Alleging Mass Discrimination Against Pregnant Officers

Under a $45 million settlement reached on August 12, 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has agreed to make significant changes to its employment policies to settle a class action lawsuit. The lawsuit describes how the agency regularly discriminates against pregnant employees, negatively impacting their careers, and sidelining them from certain opportunities or advancements.

Once finalized, the agreement will mandate that CBP train all managers and supervisors on the rights of pregnant employees and develop a new policy for pregnant women. For the next three years, the agency will be monitored by the lawyers representing the women to ensure compliance with these new standards.

The suit explains how hundreds of female employees were denied equal treatment by CBP once they disclosed their pregnancies. According to Yahoo News, many of these women were transferred to different positions such as administrative or secretarial roles, even if their existing roles were not physically demanding. For many of the women, the new positions given to them were unrelated to the skills they had developed and took away opportunities for career advancement.

Roberta May Gabaldon, an agricultural specialist for the agency, explains how she was forced to switch to a new position after revealing her pregnancy to colleagues. According to Gabaldon, after her boss found out about her pregnancy, he told her “You have to leave. You have to get a note about your pregnancy, and you have to go on light duty.” Since joining the suit, Gabaldon has been concerned about retaliation, as she continues to work in the El Paso training division.

Around 1,000 women who worked at The Office of Field Operations, the largest division in the agency, have joined the lawsuit. The majority of these women still work at CBP. As alleged in the suit, CBP’s behavior violates multiple laws including the 1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Pregnancy Workers Fairness Act.

The agency is also accused of automatically assigning pregnant employees to light duty, whereas it only provides light duty to disabled employees when requested.

CBP, however, denies any wrongdoing. According to a spokesperson for the agency, CBP already trains its employees on policies regarding pregnant employees. Erin Waters, the spokesperson, emphasizes the importance of these policies by stating, “We are better because of these strong, capable, and resilient women that are serving at every level, in and out of uniform.”

The lawsuit highlights CBP’s tendency to overlook the concerns of female employees about difficult working conditions. Despite widespread criticism, the agency has yet to address the issues of mistreatment faced by pregnant employees effectively.