DALLAS — Dallas Barber and Stylist College, Inc., which operates multiple barber and hair styling locations and instructional campuses in the Dallas metropolitan area, will pay significant monetary damages and provide other relief to settle a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

The EEOC’s suit charged that Dallas Barber rejected an applicant because of her pregnancy. The agency claimed that after the applicant satisfied the company’s skills test for the hair braider position she sought, the company’s owner learned that she was pregnant and rejected her. The owner allegedly told the applicant that the company already had one pregnant employee, did not want another, and did not want to deal with her “condition,” referring to her pregnancy.

“Rejecting a qualified applicant because of her pregnancy is illegal,” said Marsha Rucker, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Birmingham District. “Federal law has long ensured qualified women equal access to the workforce during pregnancy.”

The alleged conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, which prohibits discrimination because of sex, including sex discrimination based on pregnancy. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Dallas Barber & Stylist College, Incorporated, Case No. 3:24-cv-02296-S) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

Acting EEOC Birmingham District Director Linda Sales-Long said, “This resolution underscores the EEOC’s commitment to protecting pregnant workers’ rights under federal law. If an employer rejects a qualified applicant because of her pregnancy, the EEOC stands ready to enforce federal law and remedy that unlawful conduct.”

For more information on pregnancy discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/pregnancy-discrimination.

The EEOC’s Birmingham District Office has jurisdiction over Alabama, Mississippi (except 17 northern counties) and the Florida Panhandle.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov.