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 suit after the parties failed to reach a settlement. The suit sought back pay, lost wages, out-of-pocket expenses and 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 news statement distributed by the EEOC.

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 Hawaii. The EEOC said McIlroy and Kaiser had a separate confidential settlement.