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Center, pregnant woman settle discrimination suit

SAN FRANCISCO -- A San Francisco homeless resource center has agreed to pay $10,000 and rehire a counselor who said she was dismissed from her job in 2007 because she was Samoan and pregnant.The United Council of Human Services, a nonprofit in Bayview Hunters Point, settled a lawsuit by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accusing the center of discriminating against Tanya Thompson because of her pregnancy and national origin. A federal magistrate approved the settlement this week.Thompson, hired in 2004, counseled walk-in clients on the graveyard shift at the United Council's 24-hour drop-in center. The EEOC alleged that the organization promoted her male non-Samoan co-worker to a position above hers in 2007 even though he was less experienced and had fewer qualifications.Then when Thompson tried to return to work from a 5 1/2-week maternity leave in June 2007, the EEOC said, she was told that her job had been eliminated because of funding cuts. However, the civil rights agency said, the United Council had hired a non-Samoan man as her replacement during her leave, and kept him on the job after dismissing Thompson.The settlement requires the organization to rehire Thompson for at least 35 hours a week, with seniority dating back to 2004, pay her $10,000, adopt non-discrimination policies, and report all job dismissals to the EEOC for five years.