"There might be something wrong with my daughter's heart." That's the message Chelsey Beck sent to her manager the morning she was supposed to start new-hire training at Victra, a Verizon retailer. She needed to go to her doctor immediately and would need to miss training that day.
The manager's response? "I'm so sorry to hear about that and I hope everything is okay. Please let me know if you need anything. I'll send positive vibes your way and hope it was a mistake."
So far so good.
But he continued.
"I don't mean to add additional stress but I spoke to [the] HR Department and unfortunately we are going to have to close out this position. Until you feel you can 100% attend you are going to have to reapply once you can."
Oops. That's right. He fired her because she needed to seek urgent prenatal medical care.
According to the EEOC's just filed lawsuit, the employer "allowed non-pregnant new hires to adjust or reschedule their training start dates or attendance for issues unrelated to pregnancy including, but not limited to, last minute doctor’s appointments, family emergencies, falling asleep in class, and for no reason at all."
"Workers should never be forced to choose between keeping their job or seeking urgent prenatal care to protect the health of both parent and child," said Nancy Sienko, EEOC district director. Adds EEOC Senior Trial Attorney Mariko Ashley said, "Employers cannot discriminate against workers because they regard pregnancy-related complications as an impairment. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act requires employers to provide equal opportunities and equal flexibility to pregnant workers as they extend to other applicants or employees."
If you miss the mark, you very well could find yourself on my list of year's worst employers, just like this employer did.
Oops. That's right. He fired her because she needed to seek urgent prenatal medical care.
According to the EEOC's just filed lawsuit, the employer "allowed non-pregnant new hires to adjust or reschedule their training start dates or attendance for issues unrelated to pregnancy including, but not limited to, last minute doctor’s appointments, family emergencies, falling asleep in class, and for no reason at all."
"Workers should never be forced to choose between keeping their job or seeking urgent prenatal care to protect the health of both parent and child," said Nancy Sienko, EEOC district director. Adds EEOC Senior Trial Attorney Mariko Ashley said, "Employers cannot discriminate against workers because they regard pregnancy-related complications as an impairment. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act requires employers to provide equal opportunities and equal flexibility to pregnant workers as they extend to other applicants or employees."
If you miss the mark, you very well could find yourself on my list of year's worst employers, just like this employer did.