Preliminary approval was granted by a U.S. District Court on Monday to a proposed settlement in a federal lawsuit brought against Verizon Communications by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The settlement will make good on the service credits lost by women who took maternity or newborn leave at Verizon or any of its predecessors before these corporations began granting the same service credits for maternity leave that they did for military and sick leave. One of the largest maternity settlements in the EEOC?s history, Monday?s proposal will apply to women in thirteen states and could cost the company over $10 million in seniority, incentives and other benefits tied to the service credits.
See "Verizon Settles Maternity Suits", PRADNYA JOSHI, Newsday, February 26, 2002