CPS settles lawsuit by teachers fired after becoming pregnant

Chicago Public Schools officials will pay out $280,000 to settle a lawsuit with teachers who claim they were fired because they became pregnant.

Eight teachers fired from Scammon Elementary School from 2009 to 2012 will split the settlement, which includes back pay and $222,500 in compensatory damages, according to terms of the agreement filed in federal court Wednesday.

CPS admits no wrongdoing in the settlement with the U.S. Department of Education but will have to revise discrimination policies and complaint reporting systems and submit the changes to the department for review.

On Wednesday, Scammon Principal Mary Weaver denied any bias against pregnant teachers and blasted the settlement.

“When CPS told me they were considering a settlement, I told them I would not be quiet,” said Weaver, who said she filed a discrimination complaint after going on maternity leave herself more than a decade ago.

“I’m tired of being the scapegoat. This is a predominantly female-based organization. It’s just a natural assumption that you have a woman [of] whatever age, they’re going to have children. That’s just the way it works and we embrace it.”

The lawsuit, filed by the Department of Education on behalf of the teachers, alleged that Weaver targeted teachers who took pregnancy leave and gave them bad evaluations and, in some cases, fired them. The school system’s attorneys denied any pattern of discrimination.

Teachers Jane Bushue and Jennifer Mollis filed a complaint with federal authorities after Bushue was fired and Mollis left the school, fearing she would be fired. Both teachers had received excellent ratings from Weaver, only to see their evaluations suffer after they told Weaver they had become pregnant.

The federal complaint alleged that five Scammon teachers who became pregnant in 2009 and 2010 received worse evaluations from Weaver after announcing they were pregnant, and they were fired over non-preganant teachers who received worse ratings.

Weaver said 25 teachers were laid off from Scammon that year as part of citywide staff cuts, and the majority of elementary school teachers are women. Weaver said she warned CPS officials that the five teachers were on or had said they were going to go on maternity leave.

“I have two children, and no mother is going to do something like that to anybody,” Weaver said. “Being a mother is probably the single greatest achievement that I have.”

Mollis took a job at another school because of increasing pressure from Weaver, the lawsuit states, and Weaver terminated Bushue after giving Bushue a series of bad evaluations that began after the teacher became pregnant.

“That a public school engaged in a pattern of firing teachers because of their pregnancies is dismaying to say the least,” said Director Julianne Bowman of EEOC’s Chicago District in a statement. “This settlement puts in place meaningful measures to eradicate the kind of antiquated thinking that resulted in the loss of these dedicated female educators from Scammon Elementary School.”

“Today, the Chicago Board of Education takes an important step toward ensuring that no woman loses her job, faces discipline or endures threats because of her pregnancy,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division. “Our settlement establishes critical measures to provide a workplace environment free from sex-based discrimination.”

In a brief statement Thursday, CPS said that “Chicago Public Schools is fully committed to promoting inclusive work environments free of discrimination or mistreatment. We are taking steps to bolster training and policy awareness to ensure every school and office in CPS is a welcoming environment.”

The district did not immediately respond Wednesday to questions about the status of the eight teachers or Weaver. The Scammon Elementary website on Wednesday listed Weaver as principal.

Those steps will include CPS conducting training sessions for managers across the district, including principals, assistant principals, network chiefs and employees who take part in employee discipline.

CPS settlement