Facts

In December 2006, a leasing consultant at the Town Center Apartments in Valencia, California, which was owned by Sentinel Real Estate Corp., requested a promotion to the position of assistant manager. The consultant was pregnant at the time. Sentinel declined to give the consultant the promotion and instead, hired an outside applicant. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued Sentinel for pregnancy discrimination.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
The EEOC alleged that defendant's property manager conveyed concerns about the consultant missing work because of her pregnancy and feared that she would not come back after maternity leave. The EEOC contended that defendant should have based its decision only on the consultant's qualifications.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
Sentinel alleged that the leasing consultant in question was not qualified for the assistant manager position. Sentinel contended that it requires that the most qualified person be hired, whether that person be an outside applicant or a member of existing staff. Sentinel's policy also requires that the property manager's supervisor review and approve any hiring or promotion decision. The defense contended that the person who was ultimately hired for the assistant manager position was more qualified than the leasing consultant. Sentinel maintained that the fact of the leasing consultant's pregnancy played no role in its decision.

Result

The parties settled for $60,000. side from the monetary relief, defendant agreed to a four-year consent decree under which it would implement anti-discrimination policy revisions and staff training to safeguard against discrimination, and submit annual reports to the EEOC