FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 24, 2025
EEOC Sues QSR Pita USA Inc. for
Pregnancy and Disability Discrimination
Federal Agency Charges Pita Restaurant Chain
Denied Accommodation and Fired Pregnant Employee
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — QSR Pita USA Inc., which manages Pita Pit restaurants, violated federal law when it fired an employee of the Pita Pit in Sioux Falls after she disclosed her pregnancy and request for an accommodation for pregnancy-related nausea, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the employee informed her employer of her pregnancy and requested to continue working from home and a short period of leave. Rather than accommodating these requests, the company fired the employee, citing the “distraction” of her pregnancy.
Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination based on disability. The EEOC filed suit against QSR Pita Inc., its shareholders and successor company, BubbaMax LLC, in U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota (Case No. 4:25-cv-04109) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process. The EEOC seeks monetary damages for the employee, including compensatory and punitive damages, and injunctive relief against the employer to prevent such unlawful conduct in the future.
For more information on disability discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination. For more information on pregnancy discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/pregnancy-discrimination.
The EEOC’s Chicago District Office has jurisdiction over Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and North and South Dakota, with Area Offices in Milwaukee and Minneapolis.
The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division; the EEOC is responsible for investigating charges against state and local government employers before referring them to DOJ for potential litigation. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.
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