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Pregnant women not immune to workplace discrimination

On Behalf of | May 24, 2018 | Uncategorized

Many New York workers struggle with finding an even work-life balance. Of course, most people enjoy their work or need their work enough to try to have both a career and a family. Unfortunately, some women may find themselves forced to leave their jobs after becoming pregnant, not due to complications with their pregnancies but due to workplace discrimination.

It is not uncommon for employers to have mixed feelings when employees become pregnant. However, it is against the law for pregnant workers to be unfairly treated. Unfortunately, one woman in another state faced discrimination for her pregnancy. Reports stated that she had worked for a hospital in the human resources department for less than a year before she received a promotion. Not long after that promotion, she informed her supervisor that she was pregnant.

After learning this news, the supervisor became overly critical of the woman’s work performance before eventually stating that she was not a good fit for the position. The supervisor then told the woman to resign, and the woman signed a prepared resignation letter. She later asked about retracting her resignation, but her supervisor terminated her employment at the hospital nonetheless. As a result, the woman filed a lawsuit claiming pregnancy discrimination.

Expecting a child should be a joyous time for a mother-to-be and not a time where she feels that she may lose her job. If New York residents feel that they have faced workplace discrimination due to being pregnant, they may want to consider taking legal action of their own. Information on their various options could help interested parties determine how to move forward.

Source: masslive.com, “Former Cooley Dickinson employee sues, alleging gender discrimination over planned maternity leave“, Lucas Ropek, May 11, 2018