DOJ's Fair Housing Suit Says Mortgage Insurer Discriminates Against Home Buyers on Maternity Leave
The Department of Justice has filed a federal fair housing suit in Pittsburgh against the nation’s largest mortgage insurer, contending that it has discriminated against homeowners who are on paid maternity leave.
Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. violated the federal Fair Housing Act by discriminating, based on sex and familial status, when it refused to insure a mortgage refinance for a Wexford, Pa., couple until the wife returned to full-time work from maternity leave, Bloomberg reports.
“It defies belief that, in 2011, any institution would discriminate against a mother for legally and properly taking leave after the birth of a child,” said U.S. Attorney David Hickton of the Western District of Pennsylvania in a written statement.
The suit seeks injunctive review and unspecified damages. The article doesn’t include any comment from MGIC.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Lender OKs Fair Housing Pact, Will Pay $765K, End Mortgage Nixes Due to Maternity Leaves”
