The federal lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, charges BestBet Jacksonville Inc. with maintaining a strict policy requiring employees to resign if they missed two weeks or more of work and did not qualify for Family Medical Leave Act protections. According to the EEOC, the company forced at least two pregnant employees to leave their jobs in early 2025 after they requested reasonable accommodations for pregnancy-related needs.
The alleged violations center on BestBet's refusal to accommodate pregnant workers' medical needs. In January 2025, one employee with a high-risk pregnancy requested to miss six shifts over a two-and-a-half-week period on her doctor's advice, but the company forced her to quit instead of granting the accommodation. A month later, BestBet forced another employee to leave after she requested leave to have her baby, the lawsuit alleges.
The case represents enforcement of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which took effect in June 2023 and requires employers to reasonably accommodate employees' known limitations related to pregnancy and childbirth, absent undue hardship. The law specifically covers accommodations requiring modification of employer policies limiting use of leave, which appears central to the BestBet allegations.
"Federal law makes it unlawful for employers to refuse to make a reasonable accommodation for the known limitations of a pregnant worker, absent undue hardship," said Kristen Foslid, regional attorney for the EEOC's Miami District Office. "Employers must engage in an interactive dialogue with employees to find suitable accommodations, rather than simply denying the requests outright."
Miami District Director Evangeline Hawthorne emphasized the agency's commitment to enforcement, stating: "In this case, multiple women requested and were denied reasonable accommodations. The EEOC will not hesitate to litigate cases where employers blatantly ignore federal law." The agency filed suit after attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.
The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. BestBet Jacksonville, Inc., Case No. 3:26-cv-00704) in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The Miami District Office, which covers Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, has been particularly active in pursuing pregnancy discrimination cases, including a recent $135,000 recovery for Florida employees under the new federal statute.