On May 21st we wrote that the EEOC was serious about enforcing Title VII pregnancy discrimination number as indicated by the rapid rise of such lawsuits — in fiscal 2011, there was an increase of 23% in the number of EEOC charges alleging pregnancy discrimination.

An EEOC local regional director noted then that “Having a new child should be a joyous event, not one that leads to unemployment,” and we warned employers that they would be well advised to listen to the EEOC warnings – and ours too!

Christina Wilkie of The Huffington Post has also observed this.  We mentioned last week that the EEOC had launched four new pregnancy discrimination suits, which the HuffPost commented “likely represent early steps in the EEOC’s plan to tackle pregnancy discrimination and employer accommodation of pregnant employees over the coming year, a subject it labels ‘an emerging issue.’"

HuffPost quotes the VP and general counsel of the National Women’s Law Center as saying that "I’m very heartened to see the EEOC step up on this."

We have cautioned employers for a long time about this, but the sorry state of affairs continues.