Customs and Border Protection settles a $45M lawsuit alleging discrimination against pregnant employees

U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Tuesday agreed to a $45 million settlement to resolve a class action lawsuit that alleged the agency discriminated against pregnant employees. The agreement, which is expected to be finalized in September, also requires CBP to implement reforms to its policies regarding pregnant workers. 

“Announcing my pregnancy to my colleagues and supervisor should have been a happy occasion — but it quickly became clear that such news was not welcome. The assumption was that I could no longer effectively do my job, just because I was pregnant,” said Roberta Gabaldon, lead plaintiff in the case, in a statement. “It was traumatizing, frustrating and demoralizing. My managers don’t get to start making decisions for me just because I’m pregnant. This policy was never about our abilities – it was about the agency’s outdated views on pregnancy.”

The lawsuit, first filed in 2016 with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, argued that CBP supervisors forced employees to enter “temporary light duty” after disclosing their pregnancies without offering them the opportunity to stay in their regular positions, as required by law. It also contended that employees with other short-term disabilities due to injuries unrelated to work or illness were, unlike pregnant workers, provided the option to request light duty. 

Plaintiffs said temporary light duty status offers fewer chances for overtime and other differential pay, lowers the chances of promotions, allows for fewer training opportunities, makes preferred schedules more difficult to earn and requires the surrendering of their right to carry a firearm. In some cases, employees then had to requalify to carry their guns.

As part of the settlement, CBP will implement a new policy that presumes pregnant employees can continue to serve in their positions, identifies accommodations for such individuals and mandates training for managers on rights for pregnant workers, according to a press release. 

“This settlement will provide significant relief to victims of this unlawful practice and, with the CBP’s adoption of reforms negotiated in this settlement, CBP should become a leader among law enforcement agencies in providing equal opportunities for pregnant employees to thrive and be regarded as equally capable of performing their jobs as their non-pregnant colleagues,” said Joseph Sellers, partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, which represented the class in the lawsuit alongside Gilbert Employment Law. 

EEOC ruled in 2023 that any pregnant employee required to enter temporary light duty since July 2016 would be eligible to join the class. In the end, more than 1,000 CBP employees were part of the lawsuit. 

A CBP spokesperson provided the following statement: 

"CBP is the largest law enforcement agency in the country, and nearly 7,000 women law enforcement officers serving at DHS do so here. We are better because of these strong, capable and resilient women that are serving at every level, in and out of uniform. While we continue our efforts to recruit and retain a workforce that represents the public we serve, we are also committed to taking care of our people and continually taking steps to improve. We are committed to training our employees on proper and consistent procedures, enforcing them and periodically reviewing agency policies and procedures to ensure employees have all available opportunities for advancement." 

Story has been updated to include statement from CBP.