A national auto parts retailer that a year ago had to pay more than $160,000 in illegally eliminated sick time to its Washington state employees must now pay millions for discriminating against employees. 

O’Reilly Auto Parts, which is based in Missouri and has five stores in the Tri-Cities, will pay $5.6 million as part of a consent decree to settle allegations of discrimination and retaliation by its female employees in the state related to their pregnancies while working, according to a release. 

State justice officials said their investigation, which began in 2023, revealed that the company failed or refused to provide pregnant and postpartum workers with reasonable workplace accommodations.  

O’Reilly managers retaliated against workers who requested accommodations, threatening them with forced leave, termination or making them return from parental leave early, the complaint alleges. 

“In Washington, employers must provide accommodations to pregnant and postpartum employees to protect their health and their babies,” Attorney General Nick Brown said in a statement.  

In addition to the financial settlement – which will provide compensation to more than 50 workers – the consent decree also requires O’Reilly: 

• Implement a pregnancy accommodation and anti-discrimination policy in Washington and explaining to its pregnant and nursing employees the rights afforded to them under the Washington Healthy Starts Act. 
• Modify its automated human resources system to include a link to its Washington policies and procedures for any employee in the state who requests an accommodation. 
• Implement policies for managers and human resources staff that inform them of the company’s obligations under Washington law and ensure they respond appropriately to requests for accommodation. These include requiring the company to consult the accommodations department prior to issuing any disciplinary action against an employee who has requested an accommodation. 
• Provide training for managers, human resource employees, and corporate employees who handle pregnancy and nursing accommodation requests in Washington.  

For the next four years, O’Reilly will provide the the Attorney General with biannual compliance reports which will include a description of any pregnancy discrimination complaints made by a Washington employee and will indicate whether the worker’s employment was terminated while their accommodation request was pending.