Some women in Wisconsin face workplace discrimination after they become pregnant. A pending case in New York demonstrates that pregnancy discrimination is a pervasive problem at workplaces around the country.
According to court documents, a woman who worked for a Dolce&Gabanna shop, which is owned by Procter and Gamble, was allegedly fired for being pregnant. The woman worked in New York City at the store located inside of Saks Fifth Avenue. Before she became pregnant, she reportedly mentioned to her boss that she might like to some day. She alleges he responded by telling her that pregnancy was not a look that the store wanted to promote.
After becoming pregnant, the woman asked for reasonable accommodations, such as a stool on which she could sit, from the human resources department. The plaintiff claims her requests were initially denied. Then, the company said she could take short breaks in one of two rooms, which the company deducted from her annual FMLA leave allowance. The rooms were located a fair distance away, requiring her to walk and to lose time during which she could have worked to meet her sales goals. The woman was fired when she was four months pregnant. She claims that she was fired for her pregnancy status. The company says she was fired for cause for having possession of a tester.
The Family and Medical Leave Act allows covered workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for sick relatives or for themselves. Workers who are retaliated against for taking FMLA leave may have civil remedies that they can pursue, and they may want to learn about them from an employment law attorney.
Source: ThinkProgress, “Woman allegedly fired for being pregnant after boss told her ‘pregnancy is not part of the uniform’,” Bryce Covert, May 4, 2016
