PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Mothers Work, Inc., the leading designer and retailer of maternity apparel in the world, announced today that it has recently agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by the Miami office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleging pregnancy discrimination and retaliation. Although the Company prides itself in its stringent existing fair employment and anti-discrimination policies and practices, Mothers Work agreed to settle the EEOC lawsuit in order to avoid the high costs of litigation and to focus on reinforcing its commitment to a fair workplace by training all of its team members nationwide and by auditing their compliance with fair hiring practices.
Rebecca Matthias, President of Mothers Work, commented, "I strongly believe that our success as a maternity company depends on fair treatment of every Mothers Work team member and applicant. I was shocked and upset at the allegations raised in this lawsuit and we vehemently deny the implication that as a Company we have a policy to discriminate against pregnant women. Our business revolves around serving the apparel needs of pregnant women and we encourage having team members who are also pregnant and can provide first-hand product knowledge to our customers. It is ridiculous to think we would try to discriminate against pregnant women. We have strict policies against any illegal employment practices and have a specific confidential hotline to report any potential issues related to discrimination. Nonetheless, I am horrified that certain individuals felt that someone who was employed by us discriminated against them. Therefore, we will further strengthen our training to keep any future discrimination from ever happening.
"We are also going further, and have created a new and innovative fair employment auditing system to help assure fair treatment of all applicants and staff, including, of course, the many pregnant women who are such key members of our sales team and customer base. This program includes a Mothers Work- created program of 'secret applicant' employment interviews by an independent third party to help detect and prevent discrimination, as well as nationwide continued training. 'Secret shoppers' are used by many retailers to measure customer service but, to our knowledge, this is the first time 'secret applicants' have been used to detect potential discrimination."
The terms of the Florida settlement required training only of certain Mothers Work staff in Florida, but the Company has decided to create a program that it believes will set the standard for the retail apparel industry and will go beyond the requirements of all applicable laws. Mothers Work plans on disclosing the methodology of its program to others in the retail industry and beyond in order to help them with similar initiatives.
Training and auditing has already begun under these new programs. Mothers Work is proud to serve pregnant women's needs, both as a retailer and an employer. Mothers Work was founded by a pregnant woman, Rebecca Matthias, who continues as its President, and intends to set the standard for all others in fair treatment for pregnant women.
The Company cautions that any forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) contained in this press release or made from time to time by management of the Company, including those regarding expected results of operations, liquidity and financial condition and new business initiatives, involve risks and uncertainties, and are subject to change based on various important factors. The following factors, among others, in some cases have affected and in the future could affect the Company's financial performance and actual results and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any such forward-looking statements: our ability to successfully manage our new initiatives, future sales trends in our existing store base, changes in consumer spending patterns, raw material price increases, consumer preferences and overall economic conditions, the impact of competition and pricing, availability of suitable store locations, continued availability of capital and financing, impact of litigation and legal settlements, ability to hire and develop senior management and sales associates, ability to develop and source merchandise, ability to receive production from foreign sources on a timely basis, potential stock repurchases, potential debt repurchases, war or acts of terrorism, and other factors set forth in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or in materials incorporated therein by reference.
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