FMLA issue and/or how to prepare to prove non-neglience

[aelm]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? VA

This is a complicated one so it may not be as short as I'd like... apologies in advance. My former employer is a small business - about 25 employees.

I am about 6 months pregnant. At 3 months pregnant I asked the company I worked for for a written maternity policy. Despite frequent requests, none was ever provided. Perhaps related, comments were made about my pregnancy (which has been difficult) and I have been encouraged to work from home.

In a seemingly unrelated matter ... as marketing director, I was in charge of a $650,000 a month budget. Every month this budget seemed to change. If I could spend more money - and that money was generating profit. I was encouraged to spend it. A big opportunity came up that I knew would be well above budget and I requested permission from upper mgt to persue the opportunity. Permission was granted though all parties believe this would be something that cost the company about $100,000 a day. Instead it ended up costing over $200,000 a day and my budget was well and truly exceeded. As I saw this happening over the weekend, I sent several emails, SMS messages, and phone calls to get advice or guidance. I did not know how to handle the situation. In the end, I was fired for not handling the situation better. There were no policies in place and upper mgt was not responsive to my requests for help. So I find myself asking - was I fired because I was pregnant?

There is one wrench in this theory... our General Manager has had 2 babies while with the company and the CEO has supported this. Is it possible for a company to discriminate against one pregnant employee and not another?

I am not sure on appropriate next steps. How should I persue the situation? At the very least I'd like to collect unemployment benefits.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[mlane58]

From your post, it appears you were terminated for performance issues and it had nothing to do with your preganancy. You're employer letting you work from home seems to have been a good will gesture on their part.

You seem to be grasping at straws, looking for an alternative to your termination and not taking responsibility for the real issue, which is your performance and/or conduct mishandling your department's budget.

 

[cbg]

BTW, your subject heading mentions FMLA - you should be aware that since your company has less than 50 employees, FMLA does not apply.

There is no law requiring an employer to have, or provide on request, a written maternity leave policy.

I see nothing in your post to suggest that your pregnancy had anything to do with your firing. The fact that others in your firm have taken maternity leave with no adverse action against them strongly suggests that your pregnancy was not a factor.

By all means apply fior unemployment benefits. Your employer can contest if they like but it will be the state, not your employer, that makes the decision.