Reply to Pregnancy Discrimination at work?

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Reply to "Pregnancy Discrimination at work? "

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]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. [/quote]

[b]
I do not believe a word of your post.  No company would engage in such egregious behavior and leave themselves wide open for a lawsuit and a huge settement.  Instead, it sounds as though you are either a troll or trying out your concocted story to sue your employer.[/quote][/b]

This was my reaction as well and I have worked in corporate environments for decades in various positions.

There is no way that these managers would open themselves up so blatantly to a lawsuit. You have a situation where OP's immediate manager, the owner of the company and the Controller have all allegedly made undiluted discriminatory comments that creates legal exposure. This is not to deny there is discrimination against pregnant women in the workplace but it is just not revealed in such an obvious manner.

Even smaller companies are informed in today's environment on what can and cannot be said to an employee because the risk of legal exposure is so great.

I don't know if OP is a troll but I seriously doubt her version of the meetings with different managers. As it now stands, unless OP has independent verification of the events, the managers will just deny they ever told her these things and it would be her version against theirs. [/quote]

You are giving people wayyy too much credit for following the law and being able to watch what they say. Plus, sounds like this is a small company without a lot of sophisticated HR and legal support. And pregnancy discrimination is one area where people still feel totally justified in doing it. [/quote]

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