Employee discrimination

[islanderblues]

What is the name of your state? CA

Please note I am writting this for a fellow employee.

My co-worker has questions about issues she is dealing with at her place of her employment. Two major issues I will list are as follow.

1. When this fellow co-worker found out she was pregnant she went to her manager and disclosed this information. THE MANAGER PROCEDED TO TELL HER NOT TO TELL ANYONE and since she wasn't married to get an abortion. She stated the company would give her the money to have the abortion. She also stated that if she decided to keep the pregnacy and took more than 2 weeks off she couldn't guarantee that she would come back to the same position.

2. This co-worker decided to go forth with the pregnacy and has since been denied any promotions with the employer stated it was because she bites her nail and sluffs her feet.

Does she have any legal right to sue her employer?

 

[cbg]

Probably. Has she reported this to upper management or to HR?

 

[islanderblues]

No, we have no HR department. Company consists of approx 21 employees. Upper management is the owner and we believe he is behind this.

 

[Beth3]

Good Lord. Her boss told her to get an abortion and that the company would pay for it? I'm speechless.

It appears this employer may well be in violation of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act if the reasons for their failure to promote her are pretexts and the real reason is her pregnancy - which is a logical assumption from what you have shared.

As it relates to leave time, the federal Family & Medical Leave Act applies only to employers with 50 or more employees however I am aware that CA has a maternity leave regulation but I'll have to let cbg comment on that - I'm not familiar with the specifics.

By the way, before your friend can sue the employer for pregnancy discrimination or any other employment law violation, she MUST file a complaint with the appropriate state and/or federal agencies.

 

[cbg]

I'm a bit shaky on CA pregnancy leave too, since it's been almost two years since I had an employee in that state and close to five since I had one use that leave. But according to my source material, employers of five or more employees must allow workers to take up to four months of maternity leave. To the best of my knowledge this is still unpaid leave, although I believe that starting sometime in 2004 it will be paid leave. NOthing in my source material indicates that the employee has to have been with the company for any particular length of time to qualify. The CA DOL will be able to provide specifics.

 

[islanderblues]

Thanks for all the info, I have passed it on to my coworker. I have been talking to Beth I believe about my situation of being fired for taking my vacation due to them revoking after my surgery. As you can see our employer discriminates againt many. There are so many things I could get into. My coworker and I contacted an attorney and gave brief info on both our cases and he wants us both to come in. I just want this company to know they can't do this to employees. If any other information is needed please let us know if you have any other info.
Thank you so very much!