Dear Evil HR Lady,
I have been employed with my company for 7 years now. I notified my employer I was pregnant this February. I am due to take leave August 15th. My employer came to me last week saying he needs to talk to me about my future with the company and my intentions after pregnancy. I assured him I expect to return full time after my leave is over. The next day he said my position is being terminated. He said they are hiring an IT person at our corporate office to take my current job. He also stated I may have an opportunity to come back full time next year, depending how the company is doing. He then offered me a severance package of 8 weeks pay and Cobra. I did not accept this offer. The next day he came back and offered me 8 weeks pay plus paid health insurance til the end of the year. I still did not accept his offer. I said I need to think about it all and I will get back to him on what I think is fair.
The severance package I want is severance and paid health insurance til the end of the year and I do not want to negotiate this. My fear is they will try to negotiate my severance down.
Since I have been employed with the company, every pregnant woman has been let go. I feel if they do not give me what I want, I should mention this fact. Not to mention I thought it was illegal to let a pregnant woman go, then hire a replacement.
Any advice?
To read the answer click here: My company fires pregnant women: Is this legal?
Your answer is really off the markon this one.
First of all, if the company is covered by the FMLA (she doesn’t say) then in all ikelihood that is entirely illegal.
Second, even if it isn’t covered, it may be covered by a similar state law–we have one in my state–which also proved protection.
Third, when you fire someone who is in a super-protected class (and this woman qualifies) there is a really a strong presumption of discrimination. She’s been working there for seven years, right? Has she gotten good reviews?
I say “super-protected” (which is not a legal term!) because not only is pregnancy a protected class, but the timing is very suspect: they didn’t propose to fire her until just before she was going to leave on a pregnancy-related issue.
this is NOT an appropriate situation for her to negotiate. this IS an appropriate situation to get her behind to an employment lawyer–search the NELA website for one near her–and find out about her options.
Do not sign. Do not agree. Do not engage. the employer’s acts are so problematic that she should get assistance right away.
Geesh, employment lawyer, but I don’t know where you practice law, but it’s not illegal to fire someone who is pregnant, regardless of whether your company is subject to FMLA or not. It’s illegal to fire BECAUSE of pregnancy, but being pregnant does not guarantee you a job.
Plus, FMLA is not even in effect during the pregnancy, absent other medical issues.
Second, it’s very rare that suing is the way to happiness, unless you’re a lawyer. Lawsuits take years. They are emotionally draining, even if you win. And what do you win? Back pay? Reinstatement? Then you have to pay the lawyers.
I agree that a lawyer can be helpful in these situations, but this is absolutely a time to negotiate. This is definitely sketchy behavior on the part of the company, but negotiating is far more likely to result in an outcome that doesn’t destroy this woman’s soul.
In the UK this would most certainly be illegal, as no consultation time was given. It’s not redundancy, but sacking for sexist reasons.
It would be hard to find a different reason, apart from the pregnancy that the manager let her go.
You know what you win by suing? The joy of punishing this company, who *deserves it*. It may not be the Way to Happiness, but it sounds like the only Way to Justice. I think arguing in defense of the company means your soul is already destroyed.
I wouldn’t blame this woman a whit for negotiating and settling out of court, but I also hope she’d win.
Um. Reasonable people can come to different conclusions about whether suing makes sense in cases like this, and holding a different viewpoint than you does not indicate anything about anyone’s soul.
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