Think that pregnancy discrimination is a thing of the past? Think again.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed suit against a Milwaukee medical staffing agency, claiming that it discriminated against a pregnant employee. According to the EEOC, the company’s owner engaged in “escalating” negative comments about a bookkeeper’s pregnancy, including that the pregnancy was a joke, that her maternity leave was a vacation, and that it should be no longer than two days.
To cap things off, the company fired her seven days after she gave birth by C-section.
How dumb can an employer be?
It’s been the law since 1978–when Congress amended Title VII of the 1964 Rights Act–that employers cannot discriminate on the basis of pregnancy in terms and conditions of employment and benefits. Apparently this employer didn’t get the message.
Don’t following in this employer’s footsteps. Review your personnel policies to make sure they treat pregnant employees fairly, and be on the lookout for retro managers who think pregnancy is no big deal.
Read the EEOC’s press release on the case here.
