Retaliation for Taking Pregnancy Leave
Julie worked as an outside sales representative for a print supply company in Massachusetts. When she interviewed for the job, she was pregnant, but not far enough along to disclose her pregnancy.
After she started working, she was told by her manager that the outside sales representative job was not suitable for women with children. After she disclosed her pregnancy, she was told that it was "not sitting well" with the owner that she had taken the job while pregnant. While she was in the hospital after the birth of her child, her manager called her and asked her if she wanted to give up her position for a desk job, stating that “being on the road was not conducive to having a family.” She declined this offer. After returning from a very brief leave, she had to miss a few days of work when her child was sick. Shortly thereafter, she was placed on a performance improvement plan and then terminated. This left Julie, a single mother with a very young child with health issues, in a very precarious financial and emotional situation. Family Medical Leave Law SolutionThese events took place in 2014 and 2015, before passage of the Massachusetts Paid Family Medical Leave Act and before passage of the Earned Sick Time Law. Julie's employer was not large enough to be subject to the federal Family Medical Leave Act ("FMLA").
Had all of this occurred today, she would have had a very straightforward claim of PFMLA retaliation as well as retaliation for taking earned sick time to care for her child when he was ill. As it was, we had to put together a combination of claims for pregnancy and gender discrimination under then-existing law. We filed a claim with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination ("MCAD"), which we later removed to file in state court. After some discovery in that case, the parties attended a mediation and were able to reach a settlement that compensated Julie for the loss of her job and the significant stress she had gone through. |
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Postscript
By settling her case, Julie not only got financial compensation but finally felt like she could move on from a stressful and fraught chapter in her life. She got another, better, job and has been able to support her family since.
If you are in a similar situation, remember that today you have significant rights under the Paid Family Medical Leave Act if you need parental leave or leave for pregnancy-related reasons, and under the Earned Sick Time Law if you have to miss work for a sick child.
If you are in a similar situation, remember that today you have significant rights under the Paid Family Medical Leave Act if you need parental leave or leave for pregnancy-related reasons, and under the Earned Sick Time Law if you have to miss work for a sick child.
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We have years of experience representing people with claims arising under Massachusetts and federal family medical leave laws, and we would be happy to help you. You can use the button below to schedule a call back from a member of our team, or give us a call at 781-784-2322.
