Pregnancy descrimination

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

Pregnancy descrimination

My friend was working for a franchisee for years and was a very loyal and needed employee going above and beyond the call of duty. When she was 5 months pregnant her employers downsized just her position because of financial problems. They gave her the number of another franchisee within the same corporation. She worked for them for almost a month and due to complications had an emergency C-section. My friend let the company know in advance that she was going to need to be off for maternity early because she was have a 2 month early preemie. 13 days later he didn’t make it. When she called to talk to her boss about when an appropriate time to come back would be, they no longer had a job for her because the

Asked on January 5, 2017 under Employment Labor Law, Ohio

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 7 years ago | Contributor

The issue is whether the claims of financial problems leading to downsizing or a lack of positions due to the holidays being slow are true or not. If true, it may well have been legal and legitimate to eliminate her position: a pregnant woman can be terminated or laid off so long as it is not because of her sex or pregnancy (e.g. if for "neutral" business reasons). But if the claims were not true and are just pretexts or excuses to terminate her, then this may have been illegal sex-based discrimation (since only women get pregnant, to discriminate on the basis of preganancy is considered sex-based discrimination) and your friend may be entitled to compensation for the loss of her job (e.g. an amount equal to several months salary and benefits). The true facts of the situation are therefore critical. A good place for your friend to start would be by contacting the federal EEOC to discuss filing a complaint: if the agency thinks there is something to the complaint, they may investigate the situation; and if the investigation bears out that there was illegal behavior, they may advocate for her and get her compensation without her having to hire her own attorney.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption