When her ‘hot pants’ didn’t fit, pregnant bartender lost her job. Now she gets $24K

Taylor King couldn’t do the “hot pants” anymore, but she was still able to perform her job while she was pregnant.

So she started wearing capri pants behind the bar instead of the tight-clinging shorts that left her legs bare, according to a lawsuit brought on her behalf by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

After she was fired from the bar in April 2014, she’ll receive $24,000 from the bar’s owners in a settlement of that suit, according to a release from the EEOC.

She told her bosses in March 2014 that she’d need a to take a leave of absence in August, closer to her due date. A month later, the restaurant’s general manager said, “her leave of absence would begin within the week,” according to the complaint.

“When the short, tight outfit no longer worked, Taylor no longer had a job,” said EEOC trial attorney Toby Wosk Costas.

“When Taylor King asked the general manager if he was serious about terminating her employment, he answered in the affirmative,” the complaint reads.

The EEOC argued in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas that the discriminatory hiring and firing practices constituted a breach of both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Civil Rights Act of 1991.

“Just because you look different as a pregnant woman, it doesn’t mean you can’t do your job,” King said in the EEOC release. “I want people to know that if you feel you are being discriminated against, you should do something about it.”

It’s taken nearly four years for the case to wind its way through the court system. The settlement was reached Tuesday.

Nick’s also agreed to provide annual training on pregnancy discrimination and other forms of workplace discrimination as part of the settlement. The money being sought was for back pay, future losses and punitive damages, according to Law360.

“Expecting mothers typically need to continue to earn an income as their family grows,” said Robert A. Canino, regional attorney of the EEOC’s Dallas District Office. “This is another example of how myopic views by some employers about the value of women in the workplace operate to limit opportunities to females who are perfectly qualified and able to work.”

This story was originally published March 30, 2018 at 4:43 PM with the headline "When her ‘hot pants’ didn’t fit, pregnant bartender lost her job. Now she gets $24K."