Have you known anyone who was fired for being pregnant?

Question

I just found out today that I will be laid off right after my maternity leave. My boss has become more and more disgruntled with me being pregnant....of course I can't do all the same things I used to before I got pregnant. I am almost 37 weeks along and tired and large and slow and in pain. The last straw was when I told him last week that I was taking six weeks off for maternity leave. I know he is letting me go because of my pregnancy/maternity leave, but there is NO way to prove this. Has this happened to anyone else, and did you have any luck fighting it? I live in a right to work state, so I'm pretty sure my case is hopeless. I don't know what I'm going to do, as I am a single parent and my income and health insurance was all I had for the baby.

Answer 1

Well with my first pregnancy i was just so happy to finally be pregnant and I was working at a daycare center and then i started having a lot of cramping and developed pregnancy induced narcolepsy so I would fall asleep standing up and stuff like that.  Well anyways when I had to start working less hours and was having to call off sick because of pregnancy stuff they decided that I shouldn't be working at all so they fired me stating that I was unable to do my job properly but didn't put down it was because I needed time off due to pregnancy complications.  I didn't bother fighting them it would have been even more stress on me anyways.  

With my second pregnancy i was so happy because I was again working and off of government assistance that i had to get with my first pregnancy after getting fired.  Anyways, I was working at the Columbus Zoo and I ended up missing a few days but most I had Dr's notes for but one morning I called in and the person I called and talked to didn't report it to my supervisor I guess so they put me down as a no-call no-show and when i went to work the next day they fired me.  I later found out that the reason they fired me was because they were waiting for an excuse (the no-call no-show) to fire me since they couldn't just fire me for being pregnant but they were tired of having to work around my pregnancy.  I couldn't work long hours, I had to run to the bathroom every 20 minutes basically and sit down a lot at work because of severe cramping and spotting.  I didn't bother fighting it because they had their bases covered by finding another legite reason to put in my paperwork.  

Answer 2

YOU CANNOT GET FIRED (LAID OFF) FOR BEING PREGNANT OR HAVING A BABY, CHECK WITH YOUR STATE....ITS AGAINST THE LAW

Answer 3

You can check with your state labor commissioner about the laws governing lay-offs for pregnancy.  There are also attorneys who will take  your case on a contingency basis, if you are unfairly fired and if you will get a settlement, the attorney will take a chunk of it for handling the situation for you..You must check all this out before you leave to have the baby so that you know how to handle it if you're fired when you try to come back to your job.  Don't wait until  you're fired to look into the laws.

Answer 4

That is way against the law even in a right to work state. i would consult an attorney if that is the case amd see if anything can be done.Good Luck

Answer 5

By law he has to give you a job of equivalence upon your return from maternity leave. That being said I would use your maternity leave to find another job. It will be extremely difficult to prove your case so I would just take that time to find something else.  

Answer 6

No I haven't, but that's against the law...

Answer 7

My mom got fired when she was pregnant with me because she wasn't married. IDK why she didn't do anything about it, though. That was over 20 years ago.

Answer 8

I tend to agree with you--living in a right to work state they can pretty much fire you for any reason, so long as it's not discriminatory. Firing you for being pregnant WOULD be discriminatory, but they can find a dozen other reasons to do it and you'd have to prove they did it because you were pregnant.

However, they are taking a risk doing it now. Document everything and certainly consult an attorney

Answer 9

i do hope you kept all the notes hun take the twit to court is not right at all the law is last in first out  and if a job become available he must offer it you first  

Answer 10

Same here..I was laid off a month before I had my baby girl..At first I was mad about it but then I realize that that's just how some company do pregnant woman..Its wrong..That why I went and got me a lawyer..I was like one of the best worker but then he just lay me off like as if I was nothing good to the company..Thats why when you go work at a job make sure you know how the company works..

Answer 11

I am sure there are limits

The reasoning my be from what you do for a living

(will this have long terms of absence, will they have to hire someone to do this while your gone.)

If you move pianos for example.

Though if you were fired with no reasoning then you may have a case

since most maternity comes from vacation time first then becomes a separate issue.

Answer 12

My sister. "Forced to resign." Technically according to them, it wasn't because she was pregnant. She was going to have been at the job for a year when she was 7 months pregnant, which would have meant she would get 12 weeks instead of 6 weeks maternity leave and some other benefits. Around 5-6 months pregnant she got pregnancy-induced back problems and had to have disability restrictions at work. After about a month of that, just before she would have been there a year, they gave her some line about something and basically told her if she quit now she could come back after the baby was born and she was ready or they would just fire her anyway. She wanted to come back since she had just gotten her CNA training for it and all that and it was hard to get a job there so that's what she did, collecting unemployment for a short while afterwards until her husband could switch to get a job with insurance benefits. (And all that changed anyway afterwards but that's another 5 pages.)

Sorry I don't know much about the legalities. I know it's supposed to be illegal to be fired for being pregnant but it seems a lot of employers find excuses around it. "Oh you weren't fired because you're pregnant it's because you stink at your job" or something like that.

By the way she also couldn't afford to take any kind of legal action. After all, she had just gotten fired and she was pregnant, she lost her insurance and had doctor's bills. It was easier for her to just let it go.

Answer 13

I don't know anyone this has happened to. You need to call the Department of Labor for this one. Even if your job can't be saved, this need to be a major pain in the *** for them, because it is wrong, wrong, wrong.  

Answer 14

lawyer up if someone told you this about your being fired ask them if they will write what they know & have it notarized

Answer 15

Hey, this happened to me. I got hired before I found out I was preg. I was warned by a coworker to keep quiet about it or l'll get fired. Well, I started showing about 5 months. The day after a big meeting with the top bosses. I was fired by not my boss but the one I was warned about. I complained to EEOC (this was in 1987). Well after 3 years, I got a call. They sued said they got enough complaints and we won. No back pay, just could get job back. I didn't take it. I went back to school. Anyways, I fought the State of Arizona and won! you can 2. http://www.eeoc.gov/

Answer 16

I know this is definitely against the law and you should seek legal counsel right away! If I were you I'd save notes, right down dates, tape record any conversations. Good luck and congrats on the baby!

Answer 17

I was put on a  disability leave due to me being pregnant. I was 3 months at the time. They claimed that I couldn't do my job since the doctor had me on light duty. (I was doing data entry) .  They said that after the 12 week leave that they couldn't give me my job back. I left . I took notes and wrote down every thing they told me. Names and dates . I called EOCC.  Told them what happened and now they are working on my case.  

Answer 18

Without knowing your location I don't know what laws apply to your area, however I know where I am it is illegal for an employer to fire a person for being pregnant or during their leave. Once you have returned to work, if they fire you then, then I don't think that applies anymore unless you can prove it's related. Employers can be sneaky and they do find ways around these things though, I lost my job for being pregnant and couldn't do a thing about it. However in my case it turned out to be for the best. I wish you luck  

Answer 19

Please contact the EEOC.  This is the Equal Opportunity Emplyment Commission.  You can even fill out a complaint online.  Later, someone from the agency will call you and ask you more specific questions.  They know a lot more about the law than you, so contact them.  They can let yu know right off the bat if yoy have a viable complaint.  Maybe call the office in your region directly and find out, if you're not sure if its illegal, but, I'm sure it is!!

Answer 20

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Answer 21

Its against the law to do that! You should find an attorney to speak with about the matter.

Answer 22

That is tough, what a jerk!  I don't see how you could prove it, but I know that if you get laid off then you will be eligible for unemployment wages. I would give a call to a lawyer and speak with them about it and see what you can do.  Also you should MAKE the father of the child pay child support.  Take him to court and get what you deserve, cause you don't need or have to do this on your own income!  Good luck to you and I hope all goes well.