Fitness club denies job applicant over concerns about her ‘monthly cycle,’ lawsuit says
A luxury fitness club didn’t hire a woman for a front desk position over concerns that her “monthly cycle” might make her miss work, according to a new federal discrimination lawsuit.
The woman, who has endometriosis, which causes her painful, irregular periods, was denied the job at Equinox Sports Club in Washington, D.C. in March 2023, a complaint filed Dec. 23 says.
Her rejection came after she asked, at the end of her first interview, to postpone a second-round interview for a few days because she was menstruating, the complaint says.
She let the facility’s front desk manager know that she “experiences horrible menstrual cramps that can require her to need to lie down,” that she was “feeling ‘crampy,’” and that she anticipated she would feel “really bad” if the interview took place two days later, according to the complaint.
She asked if the company had availability for the following week, then didn’t hear back until she received a rejection email from Equinox a few days later, the complaint says. Equinox has 109 fitness clubs in the U.S. and beyond, including in London, according to the company’s website.
“Although your qualifications are excellent, we have decided to go in another direction that more closely matches the position’s requirements at this time,” an assistant general manager told the woman via email, the complaint says.
Within two hours, the front desk manager explained in a text message to the woman that she wasn’t hired “only because the concern in the future if your absence may occur due to your monthly cycle,” according to the complaint.
A man with less relevant experience was hired instead, more than a month later, according to the complaint.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing Equinox Holdings Inc., accusing the company of disability and sex discrimination by not hiring the woman, the agency announced in a Dec. 24 news release.
An Equinox spokesperson told McClatchy News in an emailed statement Dec. 27 that the company “is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to all employees and prospective employees with disabilities. “
“We categorically deny these allegations and will aggressively defend against these claims, as we were never made aware that this job applicant had a disability,” the spokesperson said.
In the lawsuit, EEOC attorneys wrote that the woman was qualified and able to work as a front desk associate, with or without a reasonable accommodation, despite her “physical impairment,” endometriosis.
She previously worked similar jobs at Planet Fitness and at a cycling studio, the complaint says.
Endometriosis is when tissue, similar to tissue that grows inside the uterus, grows outside a person’s uterus, according to the Mayo Clinic. The condition is particularly painful during menstruation, when the endometriosis “thickens, breaks down and bleeds.”
The woman’s endometriosis, according to the EEOC, is considered a disability under Section 12102 of the Americans with Disabilities Act because it can be significantly limiting.
“During approximately four or five of her periods every year” it “causes her to have abnormally painful and severe menstrual cramping, nausea, and headaches that can render her bed-ridden for one to two days,” the complaint says.
Federal law prevents ‘stigma surrounding menstruation’
Equinox didn’t hire the woman because the company recognized that she might need accommodation after she explained she has painful periods and requested to delay her second-round interview, according to the EEOC.
Following the text message about the woman’s “monthly cycle,” the front desk manager texted the woman again, referencing her periods and said, according to the complaint:
“Although we definitely are understanding (that) this is not something you can control. Unfortunately(,) that not being in your control may be an issue later.”
Equinox is accused of violating the ADA and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“Stigma surrounding menstruation remains far too prevalent in society and the workplace,” EEOC regional attorney Debra Lawrence, who’s based in Philadelphia, said in a statement.
“Federal law prevents such stigma and misconceptions regarding reproductive disorders, like endometriosis, from causing an otherwise well-qualified woman not to be hired simply because she may need an accommodation,” Lawrence said.
The EEOC’s lawsuit, which the agency filed after trying to reach a prelitigation settlement with Equinox, seeks back pay, damages and injunctive relief.
“The ADA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations not only to employees, but also to qualified applicants during the hiring process if doing so would not pose an undue hardship to the employer,” EEOC Washington field office director Mindy E. Weinstein said in a statement. “Merely scheduling this applicant’s second-round interview a few days later is an example of an accommodation that does not pose an undue hardship.”
This story was originally published December 27, 2024 at 3:53 PM with the headline "Fitness club denies job applicant over concerns about her ‘monthly cycle,’ lawsuit says."
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