AG Brown accuses Providence of failing to accommodate pregnant staff

Providence Health & Services has allegedly failed for years to provide workplace accommodations to pregnant and nursing employees, and retaliated against some who sought them, according to a new lawsuit from the state attorney general's office.

The complaint, filed Wednesday in King County Superior Court, references incidents dating back to 2021 in which the hospital system allegedly rejected requests for pregnancy accommodations, or refused to implement changes that had been granted" on paper. Those accommodations included allowing employees to sit more frequently, schedule flexibility for prenatal visits and ensuring a private space to pump breast milk, the suit says.

Providence instead regularly required employees to continue working without accommodations or forced them to take leave early, putting their health and the health of their pregnancies at risk, the complaint alleges.

"Taking commonsense steps to keep pregnant and nursing employees and their babies safe and healthy isn't optional - it's the law," state Attorney General Nick Brown said in a Wednesday statement. "A health care provider like Providence should know better."

The lawsuit did not say how many requests were denied but Mike Faulk, a spokesperson for Brown, said the office is aware of dozens of potential violations in the last five years and believes "there are many more out there."

Before filing the complaint, Brown's office said it approached Providence about the concerns and sought to resolve the matter, but those discussions were unsuccessful.

Providence in a Wednesday statement said the health system attempted to have a "meaningful exchange" with the attorney general's office about compliance with state law around pregnancy and postpartum accommodations, but that Brown's office "refused to share meaningful information that would allow us to understand their assertions, address any individual concerns and further refine our processes to better serve caregivers."

Providence, headquartered in Renton, is the largest healthcare provider in Washington, running more than 20 hospitals and a number of outpatient clinics throughout the state. The Catholic health system has locations in four other states - Alaska, Montana, Oregon and California - and in Washington is affiliated with Swedish Health Services, Kadlec and Pacific Medical Centers, which Providence considers to be secular.

In its statement, Providence said it remains committed to caring for its caregivers, and takes these concerns seriously.

"We strive to fully apply and comply with all relevant federal, state and local laws and regulations governing pregnancy-related health needs and accommodations," the statement said.

The health system continued, "We remain committed to working in good faith to reach an appropriate resolution of any issues and are disappointed by the State's focus on litigation rather than collaborative efforts to help caregivers."

Brown's office accuses Providence of violating the Washington Law Against Discrimination, as well as a state law that mandates employers with 15 or more staffers provide reasonable workplace accommodations for pregnant employees. Those include more frequent or flexible restroom breaks, exemptions to a no-food-or-drink policy, limits on lifting items over 17 pounds, and providing access to seating.

Employers must also consider other requested accommodations, such as modified work schedules and changes in equipment, the law says.

Employers must provide such accommodations unless they can demonstrate doing so would "impose undue hardship on the workplace. The law also prohibits employers from retaliating against workers who request or use accommodations.

In many instances, Brown's office alleges, Providence denied accommodations without saying how the requests would have been significantly difficult or expensive to fulfill.

The complaint

Since 2021, Providence has received more than 300 requests for pregnancy accommodations from its Washington employees, according to the complaint. The health system also received requests before 2021.

According to the suit, Providence employees seeking a workplace change related to pregnancy must formally file their requests with third-party claims administrator Sedgwick Claims Management Services.

Employees often wait several weeks for Sedgwick to process their requests, during which they must continue working without interim accommodations, the complaint says.

Providence also has a caregiver relations team to assist with requests; Providence managers are instructed by the hospital system to consult the team when handling them. But Brown's office says it identified cases in which supervisors denied requests without conferring with the caregiver relations team or allowing employees to first submit a claim with Sedgwick.

When employees do go through Sedgwick, the complaint alleges, Providence regularly relies on the claims administrator's determinations without independently verifying that they comply with state law.

In the last five years, the hospital system has allegedly punished employees who sought or used pregnancy accommodations by terminating them, requiring them to go on leave, assigning them more difficult or dangerous tasks, disciplining or verbally reprimanding them, allowing harassment directed at them, and, in some cases, using physical force against them, the suit says.

The complaint did not elaborate on these alleged retaliatory incidents, and Faulk declined to provide details about specific instances.

Brown's office asks people who experienced pregnancy discrimination while employed by Providence, or one of its affiliates, to contact its civil rights division by emailing providencepregnancylawsuit@atg.wa.gov or calling 833-660-4877. Current and former employees can also submit a complaint using the attorney general's online form.

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