Sanford Fired Pregnant Worker Who Stood Up For Her Rights: State Of MN

ST. PAUL, MN — Sanford Health has been ordered to pay back wages and other compensation to an employee after the state of Minnesota determined the company reduced her hours during her pregnancy and later fired her for standing up for her workplace rights.

Sanford also must comply with Minnesota laws that provide pregnant employees with reasonable workplace accommodations and pregnancy and parental leave, according to the consent order they agreed to.

A Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry investigation concluded Sanford willfully violated provisions of the Women’s Economic Security Act during DLI’s audit period of Feb. 27, 2023, to April 1, 2024.

The investigation found Sanford forced a pregnant employee to accept a workplace accommodation, resulting in a reduction of her hours from 40 hours a week to 32, and fired her after she asserted her right to 12 weeks of parental leave.

"Pregnant employees and employees who are new parents in Minnesota should never be denied basic workplace protections that are designed to balance the needs of employees, their young children and employers," said DLI Commissioner Nicole Blissenbach.

"DLI strongly encourages Minnesota employers to review their policies, procedures and practices to ensure they are in compliance with WESA."

Under the order, Sanford must pay $40,000 in civil penalties. An additional $160,000 in civil penalties was stayed, contingent on Sanford’s compliance with the consent order.

Sanford provided the following statement to FOX 9:

"At Sanford Health, our employees are our most valuable asset, and we do everything we can to ensure a positive workplace culture where our team members feel appreciated, heard and supported. We have fully cooperated with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry’s investigation regarding one specific leave of absence and accommodation, and while we disagree with the Department’s findings, we wish to focus our efforts on continually seeking to improve our employees’ work experience. We have worked with our third-party leave administrator to ensure proper leave processing and will be implementing additional training."