Minnesota says Sanford Health illegally cut hours, denied leave for pregnant worker

Sanford Health has agreed to pay $40,000 in civil penalties and comply with Minnesota laws requiring reasonable workplace accommodations for pregnant workers and pregnancy and parental leaves, according to an agreement between the health system and state regulators.

The consent order, struck late last year and announced this month by the state Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), followed an investigation that found South Dakota-based Sanford wrongly trimmed hours for a pregnant worker, didn’t grant her required time off and ultimately fired her after she asserted her workplace rights.

“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 Nicole Blissenbach, the state commissioner for labor and industry, in a statement.

Sanford Health did not admit any wrongdoing as part of the consent order. A company statement said it disagreed with the department’s findings in the case of the pregnant employee, but agreed to provide more training for workers.

“We wish to focus our efforts on continually seeking to improve our employees’ work experience,” the health system said in a statement. “To that end, we have worked with our third-party leave administrator to ensure proper leave processing and will be implementing additional training.”

Sanford Health is one of the nation’s largest providers of health care in rural communities, including several hospitals and clinics in western and northern Minnesota. The Department of Labor and Industry didn’t say exactly where the pregnant employee worked.

Besides its facilities in the state, Sanford is known for failed efforts to merge with Minneapolis-based Fairview Health Services, amid pushback from the University of Minnesota.

Minnesota lawmakers have been expanding protections for pregnant workers and new parents in recent years. A 2022 report found nearly two-thirds of Minnesota mothers surveyed said they took unpaid leave after giving birth.

In December, the Department of Labor and Industry issued a report about increases in inquiries and complaints under the state’s Women’s Economic Security Act (WESA) — the law that Sanford Health was alleged to have violated in the pregnant woman’s case between Feb. 27, 2023, and April 1, 2024.

The state’s investigation found Sanford cut the employee’s hours from 40 to 32 per week due to her pregnancy, a “forced accommodation” that resulted in lost wages, retirement contributions and paid time off benefits, according to the consent order.

Following the delivery, the worker was granted six weeks of parental leave, but was terminated after she asked for the time off to be extended to 12 weeks.

Sanford “willfully violated [state law] by denying the affected employee the entire 12-week parenting leave to which she was entitled,” according to the consent order, which was signed in November. “Respondent willfully violated [state law] by discharging the affected employee after she asserted her right to 12 weeks of parenting leave.”

Sanford Health agreed to pay $6,960 in back wages and damages to the worker, plus $40,000 in civil penalties. Another $160,000 in penalties have been stayed, pending Sanford’s compliance with terms of the settlement agreement.

The settlement said Sanford ultimately offered to reinstate the employee, but she did not respond to the offer.

The consent order requires all of Sanford’s Minnesota human resources staff members, managers, supervisors and certain other employees to attend an annual WESA training for two years. Sanford also must provide patients with information about their rights under the law.

The Department of Labor and Industry says it received 77 complaints filed under the Women’s Economic Security Act during the 12-month period ending August 2024 — a significant increase from 24 complaints over the prior 12 months.

The total number of violations found increased sevenfold during the time period, from 10 to 73.

“This significant rise in both complaints and violations highlights the importance of DLI and its grantee partners in continuing their efforts to educate employees and employers about their rights and duties under WESA,” the department said in its December report.