It began with a request to skip heavy lifting and ended in a federal lawsuit
A pregnant store worker asked for two days off during a medical scare, the EEOC says - and her employer fired her instead.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on August 28, 2026 sued Family Dollar Stores of North Carolina, accusing the retailer of refusing to accommodate a pregnant worker and then firing her when she sought time off for pregnancy complications.
The worker joined the company's Greenville, North Carolina store as a part-time customer service representative in November 2024, according to the complaint filed in federal court in the Eastern District of North Carolina. In December, the filing says, she went to the emergency room with vaginal bleeding and told her store manager she was pregnant.
From there, the EEOC alleges, the manager began making negative remarks. After the worker asked to skip loading heavy delivery pallets, the complaint says the manager replied, “I guess,” and added, “I can already see that you are going to be dramatic because of your pregnancy.” When the worker later showed a colleague her swollen legs, the filing says the manager cut in: “Oh, you’re gonna be one of those pregnant people. It’s not even that bad.”
The complaint describes the weeks that followed. The worker had severe morning sickness and often needed the restroom mid-shift, the EEOC says, sometimes having to find someone to cover the register first. On one shift, according to the filing, she vomited on herself before she could reach the bathroom. When she asked to run home and change, the complaint says, the manager told her to wipe it off with a paper towel instead.
The dispute that led to her firing came on New Year’s Eve, according to the complaint. The worker texted that her doctor had referred her to a “high risk clinic” and wanted her out of work until an appointment. The filing quotes part of the manager’s reply: “if this pregnancy is going to be a problem I’m gonna have to let you go bc you’ve already missed so many days just starting out and now being pregnant I feel like it’s gna be an issue with your work…”
The manager pressed for a doctor’s note by the end of the night, then fired her over the phone when she could not get one on the holiday, the EEOC alleges. Two days later, the filing says, the manager texted, “I’m going to assume you quit.” The worker replied that she believed she had already been let go.
On January 3, 2025, a doctor confirmed she had miscarried, the complaint states. Family Dollar recorded that it had fired her on January 6, 2025, citing a failure to communicate about her absences, according to the filing.
The agency is suing under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The PWFA, a federal law in force since 2023, requires employers to make reasonable adjustments for workers with known pregnancy-related needs unless doing so would cause real hardship. The complaint alleges Family Dollar denied leave, demanded medical documentation it says was not required of other employees, and fired the worker because of her pregnancy.
The HR issues are concrete. The filing alleges the store manager received no training on pregnancy accommodations. It also points to a demand for medical proof before any shift was missed, and to a disciplinary record the EEOC says was written up after the firing.
The allegations have not been tested in court, and no judge has ruled on the claims.
