Sanford cut pregnant employee’s hours, fired her after requesting leave: DLI
(FOX 9) - One of the largest rural healthcare providers in the Midwest will be required to pay back wages to an employee after an investigation found Sanford Health cut her hours while she was pregnant, and fired her after requesting a leave of absence.
Sanford investigation
What we know: The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) has agreed to a consent order with Sanford Health that will require it to comply with Minnesota’s Women’s Economic Security Act (WESA) – which guarantees workplace protections for pregnancy and parental leave.
The order requires Sanford to pay back wages and damages to an employee after DLI found the company cut her hours during her pregnancy, and fired her after she requested parental leave.
The company was also required to pay $40,000 in civil penalties, and $160,000 in additional civil penalties pending compliance with state requirements.
In addition to the fines, DLI says Sanford also agreed to:
- Require all its current Minnesota human resources staff members, managers, supervisors and other employees with decision-making authority to attend annual WESA training for two years.
- Implement system-wide templates covering WESA-related issues to provide pregnant and new parent patients with their rights under WESA.
- Provide additional information to patients about their rights to accommodations, leaves of absence and lactation breaks.
What they’re saying: "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 in a statement. "DLI strongly encourages Minnesota employers to review their policies, procedures and practices to ensure they are in compliance with WESA."
A statement attributed to a spokesperson for Sanford Health says, in part: "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."
Violation allegations
Dig deeper: The DLI says Sanford willfully violated provisions of WESA during an audit between Feb. 27, 2023, to April 1, 2024.
The investigation found Sanford forced the pregnant employee to accept a "workplace accommodation" that resulted in a reduction of her hours from 40 hours a week to 32. It then fired her after she asserted her right to 12 weeks of parental leave.
Sanford Health
Background: Sanford Health bills itself as the largest rural health system in the U.S., serving patients and communities across South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Iowa, Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
The company is headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and includes nearly 56,000 employees, 56 hospitals, and 4,500 providers.
Following a merger with Marshfield Clinic, the Sanford Health Plan and Security Health Plan will serve more than 425,000 members.
The Source: Information provided by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry.