In January 2014, claimant Yanet Perez, a growing assistant at Dash Dream Plant Inc., a Dos Palos-based company that grows orchids for retail and wholesale buyers, informed the company’s general manager that she was pregnant. Shortly thereafter, in February 2014, Perez went out on pregnancy leave. The company then refused to allow her to return to work following the birth of her child. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Dash Dream Plant Inc. for alleged violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978. Perez claimed she had worked at Dash Dream as a growing assistant, maintaining plants and orchids, since 2012 without any negative performance or conduct issues. However, she claimed that after she informed the company’s general manager that she was pregnant, the manager transferred her to another position. She also claimed the company held a meeting a month later and told employees that they were not allowed to have any more babies. In addition, Perez claimed although she was able to work, and wanted to continue working, she was forced to go out on pregnancy leave in February 2014 and then was not allowed to return to work after she had the baby even though other people were being hired. The EEOC contended that shortly after Perez informed the company that she was pregnant, both the general manager and the president of Dash Dream held a staff meeting, during which they told female employees not to get pregnant, that there should be “no more babies,” and that there were “too many babies coming.” The EEOC also contended that Dash Dream discharged and failed to rehire similarly-situated female employees when they attempted to return to work after a pregnancy leave and that the company, instead, hired non-pregnant individuals. Thus, the EEOC maintained that failing to reinstate an employee after maternity leave and discharging them was a violation of the law. Dash Dream generally denied all of the EEOC’s (and Perez’s) allegations. Specifically, it denied it threatened to fire anyone who got pregnant., On behalf of Perez and other similarly-situated persons, the EEOC sought a permanent injunction. It also sought recovery of an unspecified amount of monetary relief for the employees’ back pay, and pecuniary and non-pecuniary losses. In addition, the EEOC sought to have the allegedly discriminated employees recover punitive damages. Dash Dream alleged that Perez and other similarly-situated persons did not exhaust attempts to find work and were not acting in good faith.