Dive Brief:

• Dash Dream Plant, a Fresno, Calif., orchid grower, will pay $110,000 to settle a pregnancy discrimination suit, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The commission filed a lawsuit last month, alleging that the company violated federal laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender and pregnancy.
• During meetings, the firm instructed female employees not to get pregnant and threatened to fire them if they did, the EEOC alleged. It also refused to reinstate or rehire women after they gave birth, the complaint says.
• And least two employees will share the settlement, and the company agreed to report its compliance efforts to the EEOC on a regular basis.

Dive Insight:

It's well-settled that federal law protects women against pregnancy discrimination but employers also need to be aware of applicable state and local laws.

Nevada and 19 other states have protections on the books specifically for pregnant women, many of them stating that employers must provide them accommodation just as they would any employee with a disability. Nursing accommodations are often a part of such bills as well. 

Employers must remember that when both state and federal law applies, they must follow the requirements that are more beneficial to the employee.