O'Reilly Auto Parts is cutting a $5.6 million check to more than 50 current and former Washington employees after the state hammered out a consent decree over allegations the company systematically shut down pregnancy and nursing accommodations at its stores and at a Puyallup distribution center. The payout caps a multi year investigation and a lawsuit the Attorney General filed in August 2023.
The agreement, announced March 4 by the Washington Attorney General’s Office, resolves claims that managers routinely refused basic pregnancy related adjustments such as letting employees sit, assigning lighter duties, or allowing flexible restroom or pumping breaks, and that some supervisors retaliated against workers who asked for help, the office said. “In Washington, employers must provide accommodations to pregnant and postpartum employees to protect their health and their babies,” Attorney General Nick Brown said in a statement, according to the Washington Attorney General’s Office.
Records released during the probe show at least 134 pregnancy accommodation requests in Washington between January 2019 and February 2023, and prosecutors said at least 22 women reported physical, emotional or financial harm tied to O’Reilly’s practices, as reported by The Seattle Times. Under the consent decree, the $5.6 million fund will be split among more than 50 workers the state identified as harmed, according to KHQ.
Former employees described a workplace where managers hid stools used by pregnant workers, mocked doctor ordered restrictions, and pushed team members to come back from parental leave early, according to interviews in the Attorney General’s filings and local coverage. Ivannah Trinidad, who worked at O’Reilly’s Puyallup distribution center, told reporters her supervisor gave her tasks that exceeded a doctor’s 15 pound lifting limit and later refused her request for extra time off when her newborn got sick, as reported by KIRO 7.
What the consent decree requires
Under the consent decree, O’Reilly must roll out a Washington specific pregnancy accommodation and anti discrimination policy, update its HR systems so accommodation requests are flagged and tracked, and require managers to check in with an accommodations department before disciplining workers who have asked for help. Supervisors and HR staff will also have to complete training on state law, and the company must send the Attorney General’s Office compliance reports twice a year for four years so the state can monitor complaints and see whether anyone was fired while a request was pending, according to the Washington Attorney General’s Office.
Company response
O’Reilly has stressed that it is not admitting wrongdoing and that it agreed to the consent decree “without an admission of guilt or liability,” maintaining that its written policies already prohibit pregnancy discrimination and that leaders who break those rules face progressive discipline. The company also pointed to long running benefits such as a “Healthy Pregnancies, Healthy Babies” program and gifts for new parents, according to Bellevue Reporter.
Legal context
The Attorney General first took O’Reilly to court in August 2023, and a trial was set to start on March 16 before the parties opted for a consent decree instead, as reported by KHQ. Legal outlets including Law360 note that the settlement trades a public trial for court enforced oversight, training and monitoring, and lays out specific remedies for workers who were affected.
Advocates say the deal is a textbook example of how Washington’s Healthy Starts Act and related rules are supposed to function: employers must seriously consider reasonable pregnancy accommodations and cannot shove workers onto unpaid leave when other options exist. For more on the state law, see the statute at the Washington Legislature, and for the broader national picture, see federal guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
