Pregnancy Info HOME

if i am not mistaken in the US they can not terminate you for a doctors note or pregnancy

This sounds illegal. You may have a potential lawsuit, so it's worth speaking with an attorney, as well as your HR rep, your state's labor board, and your doctor. I agree with you, though...I don't know how your boss can sleep at night. Insofar as insurance, depending on your income limit, perhaps you can apply for medicaid. Or, do you have something called "families first" in our state that's similar to medicaid? Perhaps your doctor offers a sliding fee scale, and many hospitals have financial aid to eligible people. You have nothing to lose by asking. Good luck!

WEll here's the deal... my former HR rep says they terminated me because they could not comply with the Doctor's restrictions. Which according to the Pregnancy Discrimination Law of 1978 that's a violation, because they are to modify and adapt my job. I mean come on, It's not like I'd be like this for the rest of my life!! I did an awesome job for them, learned new computer programs in a week and had things caught up in two, but because I couldn't pick up those 50 lbs boxes ( which were far and in between avg. wt. was around 30lbs) She also tried to play my emotions because of course when your pregnant you're emotional, telling me she could here me crying and knew it was hard for me... what a crock! her condsending voice made me sick!

That company sounds quite unethical, at best. I'm sure some laws were broken, so I'd advise what I did earlier...especially contacting the labor board. I find it "interesting" that your HR person said they couldn't comply with the doctor's restrictions. Bull! That HR person is supposed to know and apply the laws, not abuse them. Let the labor board know what happened and what you were told, because my gut instinct is that there will be an audit. You can bet if an audit is performed, either they'll clean up their act, or they're good at hiding written evidence...in which case I'm sure your doctor could back up his/her previous written note. Watch some jaws drop! I think it's worth pursuing. Even if you don't get your job back (and considering how they've treated you, I don't think I'd want to work for them again), you might save someone else a ton of grief. If they could do it to you, they can do it to someone else...pregnant or otherwise (think if somebody had a bad back).

What do you do that they couldn't find light duty for you? Your HR person is in need of some retraining. They could have rea__signed you or had someone help you. You have a case. You can't be the first pregnant person to have worked there.

My friend had a similar situation when she was working in a dr. office and she now has a lawsuit against them. They are paying her unemployment and they are discussing a sum to settle out of court. It is worth discussing with a lawyer. Many lawyers will consult for free and you won't need to pay them until you get paid. Best of luck to you.

I am in the exact situation as you are praizeleedere222. My doctor also put me on a 20lb limit on lifting, pulling, and pushing for the remainder of my pregnancy. I too am having a complicated pregnancy. I am an x-ray tech/Cat Scan Tech in a hospital. We do a lot of gastric bypa__s patients weighing at least 350lbs to 400lbs so you can imagine my doctors concerns. Well Ive been on bed rest for 3 weeks now and that all counted as one absence thank gosh, because I want to save my FMLA to take time off with the baby. HR called me and explained to me that my director has nothing for me with those kinds of restrictions and that I could not return to work until I had a doctors note that stated no restrictions. She explained to me that this is legal because my injury was not caused at work. If the injury were caused at work she would have to find a modified job for me. She then explained to me that if an employee had broken their ankle outside of work, well then the same would apply to that individual. They are only to modifiy jobs for those employees that are hurt on the job. I was in shock as well and immediately called my doctor and told her this information. Well she made the decision to keep me out of work until I was at least 12 weeks pregnant and then sent a new note with no restrictions, giving me my job security that I definitely need during this time. If I start bleeding again though she will say its due to the lifting at my job and will put me on disibility, you just have to talk to your doctor and put your foot down as to what you want. I thought this was illegal in the state of Texas and talked to a lawyere and guess what its not can you believe that c___p. Total BS if you ask me! Take Care and Good Luck. By the way I work my b___t off for this company and this is how they treat me. I dont plan on going back after the baby is born. They are not worth my time anymore!

Praizeleeder222, where do you live? That sounds totally wrong. Did you get ahold of a lawyer? I would definately try to get some sort of compensation for your troubles. Even if you don't go back to work for this company, you have to do something. When you go to get a new job somewhere else they could make you out to be a bad employee. Keep us updated on what's going on.

Perhaps, ladies, these kinds of situations should make us rethink how important our jobs outside the home really are, most especially after we have our babies. If you can be a full-time homemaker, go for it! Life's too short to deal with this type of c___p, and your babies will only be young once. Don't get me wrong, if you have to work outside the home to make ends meet, I think it's preferable to work as closely as you can with your hubbies, and see what can be done to be at home with your babies as much as possible. If the "thanks" you're getting from your employer is like this, no matter if it's legal or not, you're better off working inside the home (as a homemaker, or running your own business). If you can't afford it financially, you'd be better off switching child care duties with your hubbies, by working a second shift or a third shift job (you'll avoid the additional cost of day care, and both parents will get extra bonding time). So far, though, I'm not reading anything that sounds encouraging about the companies you're working for. And, just think...if they can do this to you while you're pregnant, what's it going to be like if you have to take time off because your child is sick? Or, how about as you age, and they decide to "downsize" you? Don't kid yourselves into thinking it can't happen. It happens every day. Remember that any employer who wants to discriminate against you, for whatever reason, can be very clever - and very legal - in how they go about it.

Well thanks to my husband, I can be at home. He said he would rather me stay home anyway. My mom did and so did his. I thank God for a great husband to stand beside! I have an interview with the EEOC tomorrow and they said they will investigate because my ex-employer did me wrong. They said I should have still been able to do my job with help for the heavy lifting if there was any.

I was fired from my job one week after returning to work from maternity leave. My boss started treating me like c___p as soon as he found out I was pregnant and then forced me to take maternity leave when I was 7 months. He pretty much broke every law in the book with regard to my gender, pregnancy and termination. I am currently seeking legal action against him and the company and in only 4 days time have found three board certified attorneys, all with 16+ years experience in employment law that have agreed to take my case on a contingency basis. I am told that these kinds of cases almost always settle out of court, because if they do make it before a jury they hardly ever win. It's nice to know that I may be compensated for the way they treated me, but how do you place a dollar amount on someone screwing you out of what should have been one of the happiest times in your life? I will never be able to look back on this pregnancy without thinking about what they have done to me and there's not enough money in the world that could buy me back what they robbed from me. I wonder how they would feel if it had been one of their wives or daughters. What's done is done and as much as I wish I could, I can't change it, but I can, at least, make a difference in the way they treat their employees in the future. Who knows, maybe thisis a blessing in disguise and will afford me the opportunity to stay at home with my daughter. I think they owe us at least that much.

They have to be able to make "reasonable accomadations." Which implies that if they can not, that they CAN terminate you. I do not think that it is right bc this is a temporary condition. You know what, just sue their b___ts off...pregnancy is a federally protected status, and most employers have the good sense not to mess with it. It is like this...you go before a judge, sad and preggers, against the big, bad corporation. The odds are in your favor anyway. HOw big of a company are you talking about?

I worked for a small 'family' company. I am currently working with the EEOC with an investigation of the company. I refused mediation because We, at this time, cannot afford an attorney, even though we do not have to have one, they of course will have theirs. My husband says I don't need any added stress. Really there was no reason I couldn't do my job by asking for help if and when I did have something extra heavy to lift. I was working in the receiving dept. 3/4 of my work was on paper and the computer. I worked my but off and learn the new program better and faster than anyone and now they had to retrain some one and get behind. It's silliness! They said they couldn't comply with my doc's restrictions and they did to me what they have done in the past!

from what i've read (though i am no expert) for them to do that is s_xual discrimination. pregnancy is to be treated like any other illness. say you broke your arm, they couldn't fire you, they'd have to accomodate you until you were better. same thing with pregnancy. check out the equal opportunity laws

I am currently having the EEOC investigate.

Praizeleeder222: I was wondering how long its been since you filed a complaint with the EEOC and if you've heard anything back yet. If the EEOC didn't think you had a good case, they would have dismissed it and given you a letter of right to sue. I think you should, at least, agree to consiliation, though. You don't have to hire an attorney in order to do this and you don't have to accept any offers of settlement that you don't feel are fair, but if you ever get to the point where you feel like you'd rather have an attorney represent you, instead of the EEOC, you should not have a problem finding one who will take your case on contingency. Usually, attorneys will ask for 30% if the matter settles out of court before filing a lawsuit and 40% once a lawsuit has already been filed, whether it settles or actually does end up going before a jury. You can go to legalmatch.com to find an attorney, but stay away from any attorneys who want to charge you any upfront fees. I have an attorney lined up in the event that I need one, but am first going to try and let the EEOC resolve my case, because I can afford to settle for a lot less if I'm not having to pay an attorney. Let me know how everything is going and good luck!