The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc. will pay $180,000 and furnish other relief to settle a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit involving its Wailuku, Maui facility.

The EEOC filed the lawsuit in September 2005, alleging Kaiser had discriminated against a pregnant labor and delivery nurse. It alleged that a supervisor at Kaiser's Wailuku facility discriminated against Margaret McIlroy, who had accepted a supervisory nursing position at the clinic in seeking a transfer from Kaiser in Southern California.

The agency's lawsuit alleged McIlroy, 44 at the time, received a voice mail withdrawing the job offer less than 24 hours after she disclosed she was pregnant. The EEOC said she was without a job during the final months of her pregnancy.

The EEOC filed the lawsuit after the parties failed to reach a settlement. The suit sought back pay, lost wages and out-of-pocket expenses, as well as unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

"Standing up for my civil and God-given rights has come at an incalculable and a never-ending cost to my family and myself, but I felt strongly that I had to speak out," said McIlroy in a statement distributed by the EEOC.

"Pregnancy discrimination strikes its victims at a time when they are quite vulnerable," said Joan Ehrlich, EEOC's San Francisco district director.

In a statement, Kaiser said it has always been an advocate for fair hiring practices and respects and adheres to all equal opportunity requirements.

"From the outset of this case, we have maintained that we followed all state and federal hiring laws; however we agreed to resolve the matter in the interest of all parties concerned," Kaiser said.

It added that the settlement was reached with no admission of liability on Kaiser Hawaii's part.

The EEOC said Kaiser also agreed to change its discrimination policies and training programs to expressly prohibit pregnancy discrimination and to provide the EEOC with annual reports detailing its investigation and resolution of internal complaints about pregnancy discrimination in Hawai'i. The EEOC said McIlroy and Kaiser had a separate confidential settlement.

A record 4,901 pregnancy discrimination complaints were filed with the EEOC last year. In June, Chaminade University in Honolulu agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit that accused the school of withdrawing a job offer to an applicant because she was pregnant.

"The law is clear that employers cannot change their mind about a qualified candidate simply because they learn she is pregnant and will need to take a maternity leave," EEOC attorney William R. Tamayo said.

"We filed this lawsuit to send a message to employers that pregnancy discrimination will not be tolerated."