Pregnancy can be a wonderful and exciting time for a woman. Bringing a child into the world will require a woman to take some time away from work to recover after having her child and to spend some time bonding with her newborn. Part of the responsibility of an employer to a pregnant woman in Texas and across the United States is to provide her with reasonable accommodations such as a maternity leave. Some employers may decide that they do not wish to operate within the law and will not offer the woman what she needs in regard to working after the birth.
One of the case managers for a law firm, in conjunction with the EEOC, has filed a complaint against her former employer. The woman was hired in 2004, and in 2011 she advised her employer that she was pregnant. She claimed that, prior to this, she had always received positive feedback on reviews.
After she told her employer that she was with child, she claims that she was told that a leave of absence was not possible and to select her last day on the job. The woman claims that she did not quite understand what her employer had meant. Two weeks after her request for accommodations, the plaintiff claims that she was terminated.
The woman has filed a complaint against her former employer, accusing them of retaliating against her and for discriminating against her due to her pregnancy and not providing reasonable accommodations. She and the EEOC are seeking damages as well as lost wages in a Texas court. If a pregnant woman feels that she has been retaliated against due to her condition or loses her job because of her pregnancy, she may choose to file a claim against her employer for monetary compensation as well as the possibility of returning to her former position.
Source: The Southeast Texas Record, “Woman claims law firm denied maternity leave“, Annie Cosby, April 24, 2014
