“No more babies.” That is what the president of a company allegedly said to employees during a staff meeting. The part-owner of a plant nursery also reportedly told female employees at the meeting that the next person to get pregnant should simply stay at home and consider herself fired.
As you know, discrimination on the basis of pregnancy is prohibited by the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act.
While the nursery at the center of this particular case is in California, we have seen similar types of pregnancy discrimination here in Milwaukee. It should be noted that pregnancy discrimination is also prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a complaint on behalf of a former nursery worker at Dash Dream Plant, Inc. who says she was forced to take leave while pregnant and then fired after she gave birth. She was not the only employee mistreated by the company, according to a recent media report.
The commission is asking for the woman to receive back pay, as well as compensatory and back pay on behalf of a class of women discriminated against by the company.
If you have been fired or demoted or otherwise been treated badly by an employer because of pregnancy, you can speak with a Milwaukee employment law attorney who knows how to protect rights and careers.