Getting Laid off day after notifying employer that I'm pregnant

[Anonymous]

OP, maternal stress causes small babies, think about it....

[Anonymous]

Same thing happened to me! Sorry to hear you had that experience too. Definitely contact the EEOC.

[Anonymous]

OP, did you verbally tell them you are pregnant or is it in writing? If verbally, HR can state they didn't know you were pregnant when laying you off. Just a thought if you legally try to pursue this. Make sure all your ducks are in a row because it will get nasty.

[Anonymous]

I was laid off three weeks after DD was born, and given two weeks severance pay as an option. I did pursue my options with an attorney in MD, but the company I worked for was stubborn and they did not budge an inch when I requested severance that would basically pay out six weeks ( my std payment if I was still employed by this company- nothing extravagant ). It was horrible and I don't wish the situation on anyone, OP I am sorry you are going through this while you are pregnant, it's stressful enough as it is. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess I'm naive. I cannot believe companies are that stupid to do this. Not saying it didn't happen, just cannot believe that with all the laws in place that anyone can get fired these days for anything!

My wife had a boss that was gunning to get rid of her; he was an older guy and thought that women should SAH. So he told her, if you don't come back after six weeks, no job will be there for you. Also he gave her crap work for several months after DD was born.

He was just very careful to not say anything in writing or do anything that actually required the involvement of higher management/HR. That, and the fact that we were living in a less than desirable neighborhood with lousy neighbors, kept her quiet and made her more frustrated.

Once he retired things turned around 180 degrees. She would be getting more promotions, etc., if she were to work 50-60 hours instead of 40-45 a week, she would rather spend the time with me and DD. She did get a couple 8-10% raises the two years after this, though, once she got some face time with higher management (one guy apologized.)

I'm not sure I understand. Did she actually lose her job or have some other adverse action, or was this guy just a jerk? Jerks are everywhere. Illegal discrimination happens too, but not as often because many of the jerks are too afraid to follow through.

The adverse action was threatened, just never followed up on. Is saying, "come back in six weeks or you'll be fired" kosher?

[Anonymous]

No; FMLA mandates that you have your job (or an equivalent) to come back to after 12 weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess I'm naive. I cannot believe companies are that stupid to do this. Not saying it didn't happen, just cannot believe that with all the laws in place that anyone can get fired these days for anything!

My wife had a boss that was gunning to get rid of her; he was an older guy and thought that women should SAH. So he told her, if you don't come back after six weeks, no job will be there for you. Also he gave her crap work for several months after DD was born.

He was just very careful to not say anything in writing or do anything that actually required the involvement of higher management/HR. That, and the fact that we were living in a less than desirable neighborhood with lousy neighbors, kept her quiet and made her more frustrated.

Once he retired things turned around 180 degrees. She would be getting more promotions, etc., if she were to work 50-60 hours instead of 40-45 a week, she would rather spend the time with me and DD. She did get a couple 8-10% raises the two years after this, though, once she got some face time with higher management (one guy apologized.)

I'm not sure I understand. Did she actually lose her job or have some other adverse action, or was this guy just a jerk? Jerks are everywhere. Illegal discrimination happens too, but not as often because many of the jerks are too afraid to follow through.

The adverse action was threatened, just never followed up on. Is saying, "come back in six weeks or you'll be fired" kosher?

I wouldn't say it's "kosher" because it's a jerky thing to do, but if it's just a threat there are no damages, so no basis for a legal action.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No; FMLA mandates that you have your job (or an equivalent) to come back to after 12 weeks.

Not all employees are covered by FMLA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, did you verbally tell them you are pregnant or is it in writing? If verbally, HR can state they didn't know you were pregnant when laying you off. Just a thought if you legally try to pursue this. Make sure all your ducks are in a row because it will get nasty.

It was in writing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was laid off while pregnant from a larger consulting firm. I received notification hat I was being laid off 2 weeks after I shared that I was pregnant. I was staffed on a project at the time and the role was funded for the next 10 months.

I would not sign and accept the standard severance package and contacted a lawyer to negotiated for me claiming that I was let go because of being pregnant and that there were metrics that my management would not be able to achieve if I went out on leave. (the way they calculated utilization was the time on STD was included in base available hours). My lawyer negoitated severance that covered the remainder of my pregnancy + 16 weeks. My rational was that it would be hard to interview while pregnant and that although STD would have only covered 6 weeks, if I was still employed, I would not need to be stressed over finding a new job during my paid leave.

I was also an in demand skill and after my last day of employment, took a 2 week vacation and started with another firm that gave me paid maternity! I used my severance to really jumpstart my child's college savings.

Iam also thrilled that I am not longer employed by the original firm. If was just what I needed to move on with my professional career.

Why on earth did they choose to lay you off in the first place???? Just because they were scared of the pregnancy?

[Anonymous]

Why were you doing STD already? I didn't do mine until I was about at the end of my pregnancy....Maybe they thought you were going to be high maintenance?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why were you doing STD already? I didn't do mine until I was about at the end of my pregnancy....Maybe they thought you were going to be high maintenance?

Who are you asking this question? I'm the op and I never said that I was on STD, I said I asked for the paperwork to file when the time came.

[Anonymous]

I was given a two week notice that i would be laid off cause he was afraid i might fall or get hurt we were told in the paperwork for hire to buy non-slip shoes which i have and he thinks im going to fall is there something i can say to him like you will have to pay for my unemployment if you lay me off cause its illegal to lay me off cause im pregnant i love working here and would hate to get a lawyer involved but i will if i have to cause this is ridiculous that im not even showing i only told other employees that i was pregnant never the boss and im glad hes concerned for the baby but this is to early and unexpected especially when two people have to work now days to live comfortably . please help i never filed unemployment i never been in this situation i have no clue what to do

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Employment lawyer again. Keep in mind that your pregnancy doesn't have to be the sole reason they fired you, it just has to be a motivating factor without which they wouldn't have fired you.

I'm not trying to be discouraging but I will say this: I represent employers and in my experience there is a hyper-awareness of the pitfalls of firing a pregnant woman. Even non-lawyers and non-HR people know that this is a minefield. I often have to reassure my clients that it really is OK to terminate someone, if I know they have the evidence to back it up. It would surprise me to hear of a company where not one of the managers or HR people thought this was a bad idea. Unless they know they can prove that they had a legitimate non-discriminatory reason for the layoff. I'm not saying people don't go off half-cocked, but in this day and age it's unusual.

I do get the sense that there's a lot of nuance to your consulting arrangement that I don't understand, which could of course change the picture.

OP, do not take the advice of an anonymous lawyer who represents defendants in employment suits. Speak with a plaintiff's attorney about what happened to you. Many will do a free consultation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Employment lawyer again. Keep in mind that your pregnancy doesn't have to be the sole reason they fired you, it just has to be a motivating factor without which they wouldn't have fired you.

I'm not trying to be discouraging but I will say this: I represent employers and in my experience there is a hyper-awareness of the pitfalls of firing a pregnant woman. Even non-lawyers and non-HR people know that this is a minefield. I often have to reassure my clients that it really is OK to terminate someone, if I know they have the evidence to back it up. It would surprise me to hear of a company where not one of the managers or HR people thought this was a bad idea. Unless they know they can prove that they had a legitimate non-discriminatory reason for the layoff. I'm not saying people don't go off half-cocked, but in this day and age it's unusual.

I do get the sense that there's a lot of nuance to your consulting arrangement that I don't understand, which could of course change the picture.

OP, do not take the advice of an anonymous lawyer who represents defendants in employment suits. Speak with a plaintiff's attorney about what happened to you. Many will do a free consultation.

You do realize this thread is a few years old right?