Im not sure if I would have a case... but I have to put it out into the world what I am going through at work since I got pregnant.
My manager has known that we were doing IVF, and has been really friendly about it in the last year. So when he asked me if this cycle worked, even tho it was a little early to be announcing, I told him yes... as a friend. He was out of town for the rest of the week. The following week when he came back to work, the day before my first ultrasound, he came into my office to let me know that they had re-hired the female I had actually replaced a year and a half ago, to take my position back. They had planned to move me to another position... I was extremely upset by this. He listed many reasons, one of them being "dont you want to have a less stressful position now that you are pregnant?" and "did you think that you would still be able to handle these hours after having the baby?". I was extremely upset, but tried to be understanding. The next day, we found out that we are expecting twins. Because my manager had already told my co-workers that I am pregnant, I felt no reason to hide the fact that its twins... especially because I have been so extremely sick. The following day, I was called into a meeting with my manager and the owner. The owner told me "congratulations on the twins!" which was mortifying because I really didnt plan on him specifically knowing so soon. He then told me that they would be changing me to yet another position, and that he would try to keep my pay the same, but I might not make exactly as much. He said that it was nothing personal, they appreciate all that I have done, but its a business decision. He then sent me to talk to the Comptroller of the company, who will be my new manager. I sat down in her office, and her first words were: "well, I was really excited to have you over here, that is until I found out you went and got pregnant. I dont want to train you just so you can turn around and leave." I told her, that the new position was very new information, and I am just trying to figure out what is going on, but at this time I have no intentions of leaving.... thats when she responded with "Sure... excepts its TWINS, what the fuck are you going to do with twins? You expect to still work?" At that point I lost it. Trying to handle the shock of twins myself, along with my work suddenly falling apart, and everyone knowing about my pregnancy before I was ready... I lost it. To which she responded "Are you going to come in here and cry everytime I yell at you?" I just apologized and told her its still very early in my pregnancy, and asked to be excused. She said she would decide if I could have the position or not... and that was that. Its been two weeks now, I am 9 weeks 2 days pregnant. I was supposed to change positions at the beginning of the month, and nothing has happened. They hired the girl to replace me literally the same day the first told me, so she has been here, and we have been stepping on one another's toes... meanwhile everyone in my office knows what is going on... and I am not even sure if I am going to have a pay check next month... I am really worried. I dont know if the owner knows what the comptroller said to me... and I dont want to tell him because if I end up working under her. I dont need the extra enemy... I am just at a loss. I have no idea what to expect next. Thanks for reading. |
I'm not a lawyer but that sounds to me like an egregious case of pregnancy discrimination.
Document EVERYTHING. Even send emails confirming conversations, get whatever you can in writing and speak to a lawyer ASAP. |
and sorry you are going through this. |
OP here, I should also mention that the comptroller who made those comments to me, is also our HR rep. |
yes, document everything. email is perfect for that. "just confirming that you said in our meeting today that i would be moved to ___ position. what was the pay again?" and do it for everytthing while you and your lawyer figure out what to do. |
There is nothing, I repeat NOTHING subtle about this discrimination. Document it all and make sure that you have copies of the documentation somewhere other than your office email. Sit down with a lawyer and do some kind of deposition-type testimony. Video tape it if you can. Do not resign, even though this is terrible and you will likely be miserable.
Not the same at all, but my MIL just won a gender discrimination lawsuit last year. She was a municipal employee who experienced several of the things that you're describing, including overt references to her gender in connection with her job performance and organizational "shifts" and "business decisions" that impacted her negatively and were seemingly based on nothing. For example, after 5 years of glowing performance reviews and project successes (she was basically the economic director and under her direction, the municipality doubled its tourist and cultural revenue, plus other successes), she suddenly found that all of her work was being reviewed by one of her peers (not a supervisor but someone with the same title as her in a different department who was male and friendly with the new city manager, a self-described "good old boy). They also moved her office from a large office with a window and enough space to meet with vendors and clients to a small windowless office in the back of the building that was also being used to store office supplies. That move happened without her knowledge - she went home on a Friday and came in Monday morning to find that all of her stuff had been moved. When she complained, they said, "You have plenty of space, I don't know why you're getting so emotional." She then got a bad performance review, despite her numbers still being up and her subordinates still reporting favorably about her management, and was "let go for performance reasons" a few weeks later. She sued and won about $300,000, which was basically the salary she lost and the retirement funds she had to spend to stay alive during the two years the suit took. |
Sounds like you need to keep your personal life personal and your professional life separate from that. You don't tell your supervisor personal information "as friends." You certainly should know better than to give notice of a pregnancy before 13 weeks, especially if you've been dealing with IF.
My guess is that, since you mention talking with the owner of your company, and you sound very immature and naive, you are working for a small company for which FMLA does not apply. I don't know what legal recourse you have, but it sounds like you may want to consult an employment attorney. BTW, the comptroller is already not in your court, so documenting what she told you and informing the owner will not make you an "enemy" -- not to mention that imaging your coworkers as "friends" or "enemies" is not a good way to interact professionally in an office setting. |
How many employees does your company have? |
OP here- NOTHING has been discussed via email. It was three meetings.... a meeting with my manager the day he told me that my position was changing and that my replacement would be in three hours later.
The meeting with the owner and manager, at which time I was told I was being moved to yet another position, and that my pay would likely change. And lastly, the meeting with the comptroller who was to be my new manager, in which she said awful things about my pregnancy... but it was only the two of us. Nothing has happened yet as of then. I have never needed a lawyer for anything... so I dont have a specific lawyer to speak to... I have no clue what to do, but I know that this isnt right. |
The thing is, bringing a discrimination claim is stressful. Even if you could prove it, do you want to add that stress on top of a twins pregnancy? That's your call. In the meantime, you could document everything, as the PPs have said, in case you do want to pursue a claim. |
11:36. I am not immature and I am sorry that you assumed that from my post asking for help. The company I work for is large, but I am in a smaller department and we have all been very close. We have also had several out of work outings together. So telling my manager about my pregnancy didnt seem wrong... he has been 100% supportive through IVF and I had no idea that this chain of events would take place. We DO have FMLA. |
A large company in which the owner meets with individual employees and their managers about role changes? Why would the owner of a large company be involved in a lateral move?
How many employees are there? |
Get a good attorney and sue their asses into oblivion. I'm furious for you. Good luck. |
And the comptroller is the head of HR for your department, too? This really sounds like a small company or a shitty place to work. |
They couldn't have made their discriminatory reasoning much clearer for you, could they? I hope you take them to the cleaners, OP. Do it for your kids. seriously. |