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Legal Momentum and Sugar Law Center Fight Pregnancy Discrimination Against Port Huron Firefighter

NEW YORK AND DETROIT — New York’s Legal Momentum and its Detroit-based co-counsel, The Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice, filed a federal pregnancy discrimination charge against the Port Huron Fire Department (PHFD) in Port Huron, Michigan on behalf of firefighter Valerie Finn. The charge alleges the Department violated federal law when it forced Ms. Finn to take an unpaid leave of absence during her pregnancy rather than temporarily modify her job duties, despite having provided “light duty” in the past to male firefighters with temporary disabilities.

In a Charge of Discrimination submitted to the Detroit office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission December 22, Ms. Finn alleges that the PHFD violated federal anti-discrimination laws when it refused to grant her “light duty” during her pregnancy, which her doctor instructed was necessary for her health. The PHFD claims that “light duty” is available only to firefighters injured on the job, a policy automatically disqualifying any woman who becomes pregnant. The PHFD’s decision forced Ms. Finn to take unpaid leave time for the duration of her pregnancy, resulting in significant financial hardship for Ms. Finn and her husband, a police officer.

Legal Momentum’s President Irasema Garza said: “Valerie Finn was ready, willing, and able to continue serving the Port Huron community during her pregnancy, but the Fire Department instead made Ms. Finn choose between becoming a mother and earning a paycheck. That’s a burden no woman should ever face, and no male firefighter ever will.”

According to the Sugar Law Center’s Executive Director Tova Perlmutter, many fire departments in Michigan and around the country allow women modified responsibilities so that they can continue working during pregnancy. “We provided the Port Huron Fire Department with examples of such policies,” said Perlmutter, “but they refused to consider this solution. The disparate impact of their policy on women’s income, benefits, seniority and potentially even job retention is obvious—and outrageous.”

Ms. Finn’s filing comes just weeks after the Detroit Police Department was hit with a federal lawsuit by a group of women police officers challenging a light duty policy similar to Port Huron’s. 

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About Legal Momentum: Founded in 1970 as NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, Legal Momentum is the nation’s oldest non-profit legal advocacy organization dedicated to advancing the rights of women and girls. Legal Momentum works to expand opportunities for women in the skilled trades through government advocacy, public education, technical assistance to developers, contractors and unions, and litigation.

About Sugar Law Center: The Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice is a national non-profit, public-interest law center providing legal and public advocacy to advance the rights of working people and their communities.

Contacts
For Legal Momentum: Altagracia Diloné Levat, alevat@legalmomentum.org, 347.739.7664
For Sugar Law Center: Tova Perlmutter, tperlmutter@sugarlaw.org, 313.962.6540 

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