EEOC Backs Coverage for Infertility

An employer violated the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Civil Rights Act when it denied insurance coverage for a woman’s infertility treatments, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has ruled. Rochelle Saks, 37, of Mahopac, N.Y., who manages Franklin Covey Co.’s retail outlet in White Plains, N.Y., sued the company last year when it refused to reimburse about $20,000 she had paid for hormone treatment, artificial insemination and care for her resulting miscarriage. It remains unclear if the case will set a national precedent. The EEOC will now invite both sides to settlement discussions. If no agreement is reached, the case will go to federal court, Saks’ lawyer said. Salt Lake City-based Franklin Covey, which publishes motivational books, including “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families,” issued a statement saying, “This is an insurance industrywide issue, and it’s only the beginning of an EEOC administrative process that will continue to evolve.”