ST. LOUIS — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against St. Louis Arc, Inc. on September 30, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. The case alleges the nonprofit violated federal law by refusing to provide reasonable accommodations to a pregnant employee, forcing her to take leave, and terminating her employment.

The lawsuit alleges violations of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. St. Louis Arc is a nonprofit organization that provides disability support services. The agency attempted to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process before filing the lawsuit.

A community support specialist at St. Louis Arc notified supervisors of her pregnancy in early 2024. She submitted medical documentation for a temporary 20-pound lifting restriction due to pregnancy-related back and pelvic pain. St. Louis Arc refused to accommodate the employee's lifting restriction and placed her on leave.

St. Louis Arc terminated the employee when her leave expired shortly before her due date. The organization routinely provided light-duty or modified assignments to other employees with similar temporary lifting restrictions, including those injured at work or recovering from medical conditions.

Andrea G. Baran, regional attorney for the EEOC’s St. Louis District, said Congress passed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act to ensure that pregnant workers could keep working even when they need job modifications to accommodate known limitations related to pregnancy and childbirth, and that no worker should be forced to choose between maintaining the health of her pregnancy and earning a paycheck to support herself and her family.

David S. Davis, director of the EEOC’s St. Louis District, said forced leave is not an accommodation and that the EEOC is committed to protecting the rights of pregnant workers.

Why It Matters

The EEOC's Strategic Enforcement Plan for fiscal years 2025 through 2029 specifically designated enforcement of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act as a priority, targeting cases where workers requesting pregnancy accommodations were instead pushed onto medical leave. The agency has filed multiple lawsuits under the act since its implementation, including a 2026 case against Step2, a toy manufacturer, for similar alleged violations of providing reasonable accommodations to pregnant employees.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act went into force on June 27, 2023, and applies to employers having fifteen or more employees. In 2024, the EEOC issued final regulations implementing the law, which requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations for known limitations tied to pregnancy or childbirth unless doing so would cause undue hardship. St. Louis Arc’s operations are governed by the Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy, which provides guidance on reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities, including those related to pregnancy.

Timeline

In 2024, the EEOC issued final regulations implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which took effect on June 27, 2023, requiring covered employers with 15 or more workers to provide reasonable accommodations for known limitations tied to pregnancy or childbirth unless doing so would cause undue hardship. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act went into force on June 27, 2023.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against St. Louis Arc, Inc. on September 30, 2026. The EEOC filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on September 30, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, with the case number EEOC v. St. Louis Arc, Inc. Case No. 4:26-cv-01547-RWS.

What's New

Later reporting indicates the EEOC has filed multiple lawsuits under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act since its implementation, including a 2026 case against Step2, a toy manufacturer, for similar alleged violations of providing reasonable accommodations to pregnant employees. The EEOC filed a lawsuit against St. Louis Arc, Inc. on September 30, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, with the case number EEOC v. St. Louis Arc, Inc. Case No. 4:26-cv-01547-RWS.

Additional context shows St. Louis Arc was named among the top three Best Places to Work in the Big Companies category by the St. Louis Business Journal just two months prior to the EEOC lawsuit, based on an internal employee survey conducted earlier in 2026.

Research titled "DOUBLE JEOPARDY FOR OLDER WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION FILED WITH EEOC" was published in 2015 in The Gerontologist. According to internal emails referenced in the EEOC’s lawsuit, St. Louis Arc officials were aware that the employee could continue working with a modified assignment, but still chose to place her on leave and later terminate her employment.

In 2023, St. Louis Arc participated in an event where students created adapted toys for individuals with disabilities, showing its community engagement efforts, though this activity is separate from the current lawsuit.