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Pregnant and recently got fired.

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xione

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Texas

I am three months pregnant and recently got fired for missing a few days of work because of really bad morning sickness. I had informed the manager via-email that I wouldn't be able to attend work for a couple of days and told him exactly why, and after not receiving a reply I didn't think much of it. I went to work Wednesday 1-2-05, and was getting ready to clock in (I work in a restaurant...) and as I was putting my aprain on the general manager (whom I had emailed) told me without even looking at me, that I had the day off. Not even letting me know that I was fired. Only making it seem as if I was just let go for the day. After his news, I went to the schedule and saw that my hours were all marked off from this last week. As soon as I saw that, I knew that I was let go. But after thinking about it for a few hours, I started to wonder why I wasn't informed of this in a more professional manner. This was a VERY discreet firing. It's rather pathetic. But moving on... since I am without a phone at this moment, emailing the general manager was the only way that I could get a hold of somebody. For when I was sick, I didn't have the car to go up to a pay phone. Anyway, I e-mailed the GM and asked him what happaned and questioned whether or not I got fired. That was around 3pm yesterday and I still haven't received a reply from him yet. That part is besides the point, I think, because I decided to take the car once my boyfriend got home and go up the road to the pay phone. I ended up having to call from the phone inside of the store because the payphone was broken. It wouldn't even take my quarters!! Once I called, I spoke to a different manager because the GM was already gone for the day. I asked him if I still had a job, to which he replied "Pretty much, you don't!" After hearing that I asked him why and he told me, and I quote again "Well, you haven't been into work lately and you didn't call anybody to let them know..." What?? So I told him that I had e-mailed the GM and told him the day before that I wouldn't be able to come in. My morning sickness has been getting really bad. I'm puking several times a day and slowly it's getting to the point where I cannot hold down water any more. I tried to explain in my Email on Sunday 1-30.05 why it is that I couldn't come into work, the best that I could explain it without getting into a lot of detail. Also note that once I got hired, the manager (he got transferred about 5 months after I got hired) told me that they give you three warnings before they fire you. I didn't receive one! Not even a simple "Your missing work is starting to become too much of a problem and inconvenience..." or anything. They never once spoke to me about it and I never got written up or anything like that. So here I was, following the correct procedures and I still got fired. It really sucks because I have bills to pay and it's not my fault that I have been feeling really sick. Morning sickness is a part of pregnancy, and since I informed them that I wouldn't be able to come into work the day before (that's more than enough time... more than they ask for) I feel like it's discrimination against my being pregnant. The GM never took well to the news once I informed him that I was pregnant. And also note that I only missed a few days of work since I got pregnant. What the heck? Is there anything I can do about it or am I supposed to bite my tongue and move on? Either way, I hate how people can get away with this. I have been pretty damned reliable before I got pregnant. But now that I have gotten pregnant, all of a sudden my missing work for a damned good reason is not acceptable? It seems way too fishy to me. Not to mention, there are a lot of other people there that have gotten away with far worse. Yet the pregnant girl gets terminated. Any help? That would be great! Hehe, needless to say, I am quite angry. And whether or not there is something I can do about it, I would like to know. Thanks! =)
 
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cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
About the WAY you got fired? No. They are free to be jerks in the way they choose to fire someone if they choose.

However, I have a couple of questions for you that may affect what you can do about the FACT that you were fired. In other words, while it MAY have been legal for them to fire you, it also may have not have been.

1.) How long have you worked for this employer?
2.) Do you work full time or part time?
3.) Does the employer have at least 50 employees within a 75 mile radius of your location?
4.) How much time have you missed from this or any other medical reason in the past 12 months?
 

xione

Junior Member
hm...

cbg said:
About the WAY you got fired? No. They are free to be jerks in the way they choose to fire someone if they choose.

However, I have a couple of questions for you that may affect what you can do about the FACT that you were fired. In other words, while it MAY have been legal for them to fire you, it also may have not have been.

1.) How long have you worked for this employer? would have been a year next month
2.) Do you work full time or part time? Part time.
3.) Does the employer have at least 50 employees within a 75 mile radius of your location? I don't know exactly how many employees he has. If he doesn't have 50, it looked as if he has almost that amount. And he is only the GM for that restaurant.
4.) How much time have you missed from this or any other medical reason in the past 12 months? I would have to say maybe all together, three weeks at the most. That's in 11 months. I missed one week because I went to my best friends funeral out of state. They were totally supportive of that though.
hm... it says this message is too short, so i'm gonna try to make it longer. I would have missed only 2 weeks had I not attended my best friends funeral. But he was my best friend and I felt like I had to be there. Plus if I didn't, I would have regretted it. But like I said, they were all supportive of it. No tone in their voice would have said any different.
 
You are not answering the questions posted. We need specific answers to cbg's very specific and clear questions. Trust me, the specific answers make a difference.
 

xione

Junior Member
But I did answer the questions. I have been working there for 11 months, I don't know if he has 50 employees working there. And all together, I have missed 3 weeks within the 11 months that I have been working there. Plus, I was a part-time employee. What am I not answering clearly?
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Okay, based on your answers you did not qualify for FMLA and your state does not have a state-mandated maternity or medical leave so it is PROBABLY legal to fire you. Unless FMLA or a state equivalent applies, the company is free to fire you for missing work no matter how legitimate the medical reason.

The only other straw I can offer you is that IF you can show that another employee who had been there for 11 months and had missed three weeks of work total, but who had a condition other than pregnancy, would not have been fired, then you may have a case for pregnancy discrimination. But that's a long shot and unless you could point to a specific individual, you probably won't have much of a case. To be perfectly honest with you, three weeks is a fair amount of time for an employee who has only worked there eleven months to have missed.
 

xione

Junior Member
Wow... I guess I'm not surprised. I'm not the type of person who has much luck with this stuff. It just really sucks that there isn't anything that I can do about it, except to walk away and find a different job. Which could be hard since I'm pregnant. I went applying for jobs yesterday before I found out for sure whether or not I got fired. When I spoke to the ladies, I never once mentioned that I was pregnant. I'm three months, it's my first child and I'm not even showing. If I do get either one of these jobs, they can fire me once I tell them that I am pregnant right? It's not illegal for me to keep that information from them. For it doesn't determine whether or not I am qualified for the position.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
No, it is not illegal for you to keep that information from them. However, it is absolutley ILLEGAL for them to either fire you BECAUSE you are pregnant, or to refuse to hire you BECAUSE you are pregnant.

Your current employer is not firing you because you are pregnant; he is firing you because you have missed too much time at work. However, for someone to use your pregnancy as a reason either to fire you or to not hire you would be a clear case of illegal discrimination.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
The employer MUST have 50 or more employees within a 75 mile radius of the employee's location.

The employee MUST have worked a minimum of 12 months AND have worked a minumum of 1,250 hours in the last 12 months.

The employee MUST have a serious health condition as defined in the statute.

In this case the employee has not worked there for 12 months yet; therefore she is not eligible.
 

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