Infant death

[hurt]

What is the name of your state? TN

Do I have a case in TN and who could I take it to? My wife and I just recently lost our baby son, due to Intrauterine Fetal Demise ( I believe fetal Stress). She had been working for a large company and found out she had become pregnant, she told work and they weren't too happy the doctor put her on a lifting restriction. Two weeks later she took a two week leave of absence from the doctor to her company they would not accept it and terminated her that same day. Shortly after she was denied unemployment as well. This has put her and myself, our whole family under a lot of stress, for she was head of the household and worked very hard at her job and I'm disabled and only get SSD. Nine months later my wife lost our son at full term. He was due in 1-2 weeks when she lost him at 38-39 weeks pregnant. We thank God for the doctor who had to deliver my son. We have laid him to rest at a nice cemetery, but still have to get a head stone for him. Can I sue the company she had worked for, she has also filed with the EEOC, but it's as if they have to many cases already and are asking if she's ready to go back to work. All while she was pregnant which added more stress, it makes it sound as if they are wanting her to go back to work for them after they fired her so the case will be dropped. Who does the EEOC work for anyway?? I thought it was for the employees not the companies. Anyway what can I do?? Who do I talk to?? You have no idea how much hurt this has put this family through.

[enjay]

I'm very sorry for your loss.

If I'm reading your post correctly, your wife was newly pregnant when she lost her job and lost the baby 9 months later? You can't tie the latter to the former.

[hurt]

Thank you enjay first of all, OK so the two are not related: is that what you are saying? I don't understand. should my wife then get an attorney? For the EEOC can't seem to spend much time on this case due to having more cases than they can handle or want. I just thank the good lord that I have not seen Yet; more women going through this. I have seen it usually takes a group of people before anybody will do anything; not just one poor soul. enjay at least you will speak up wheater you are right or wrong it gives me hope for my family sake of mind.
Thanks again.

[moburkes]

I'm also sorry for your loss.

I'm not sure, though, what you are looking for. She could have stayed working up until the birth, and the same thing could have happened. I'm also not sure how you are tying being fired to this.

It appears that your wife was not eligible for FMLA. I'm not sure what type of discrimination you took to the EEOC. The unemployment commission, an independent 3rd party, denied her unemployment claim. How long did she work at this job? Why are you saying that, 9 months later, the job caused her enough stress to cause the death of the baby? Where did you get fetal stress from? Not trying to be rude, buy unless you are a medical professional, you are not qualified to make a death determination.

[hurt]

welcome:moburkes My wife was fired after taking a two week of leave from the doctor into this company, the company said NO we will not except this and fired her. your right she could have lost our baby if she was able to continue working and yet maybe not! We do know when she was fired for this it was very stressful and then weeks later she was told she could not get unemployment, let the insanity start now. Then were asked by the EEOC if my wife was ready to go back to work for this company that had just fired her. My wife had been under stress from the day the company would not except the doctors orders
Then the company telling lies to the EEOC AND THE unemployment lies. we have papers showing different reasons why my wife was fired from the company she had worked for.
ON my sons death certificate, I have in hand and copies of it states (Intrauterine Fetal Demise) After my wifes loss of employment the stress just kept coming from less income, wondering if we could afford where we are living, it just goes on and on. Now we are getting stronger to stand up and fight for this never to happen to a nother women again and ask the good lord to forgive those who would allow this happen.

moburkes: I do hope this helps answer your question, I can use any advice to get this case moving faster. If not it just helps me with not going nuts this whole thing has caused so much hurt that most people would be in a shelter because of how much they have lost. However I truly feel somebody is keeping us going and something will get done it just takes one good person to see what has happened and stand up and say I or we will help.
I feel we just need a firm or a real good attorney who fights for the underdog and not for the big companies. I was told I may want to look outside of TN.

[moburkes]

You still haven't answered some of my questions. Was your wife eligible for FMLA? How long had she worked for this company? When was EEOC brought into the picture?

[hurt]

I'm sorry moburkes, my wife worked for this company for 9.5 months so No she did not get FMLA. The company told her she didn't work there long enough. Oct of 2007 first called EEOC in November signed paper work, gave two different settlement amounts with two different people; the Third person with EEOC asked if she would go lower from the first one. The first person from EEOC was really good and felt my wife was telling the truth after looking into the information she gave him and he kept us informed, Less to say he is no longer working on this case due to being pulled off and moved to other area in the EEOC. The second person we had for a week or so we didn't even get to talk with after getting a letter saying we now have a third person that will be working this case. This person has asked if my wife is ready to go back to work for this company who FIRED her in the first place. My wife never once got a verbal or any type of written warning in the time she had worked for this company just YOUR FIRED when they got a two week leave of absence from the DOCTOR.
Once again we thank anyone who writes back on this with any thoughts, just to help us get through this very hurtful time and to let people know this can happen to you. We are just like your good neighbors just in shock although.

[cbg]

I'm sorry for the loss of your baby.

FMLA eligibility requirements are set by Federal law. The employer has no authority to amend them. If your wife had been with this employer for less than 12 months, she was not eligible for FMLA. Again, this is the law. She MUST have been working there for 12 months or longer in order to qualify.

The EEOC is a neutral agency. They do not "work for" either the employees or the employers.

[hurt]

cbg: Thank you for your input. I had a feeling that the employer was right on my wife not getting FMLA. Its the other thing they did that was Not right. Sad because in general they were a good company to work for my wife said. Some people know in that first year if they like who they are working for or not she did and her worked showed it: for never getting any type of warnings or write-ups, she would still be their if they had not fired her.
Now for her to go back to a company that had fired her for being pregnant how many women do you know would do that, OH yes and please good people who write in this forum please don't say: (You can't be fired for being pregnant). We can prove you are so wrong.

For now, I'm just saying thank you lord that their is not a GROUP of women going through this. One is bad enough..

[moburkes]

When people say that you "can't", they mean that it is illegal. That doesn't mean that it doesn't happen. People do illegal things all day long.

[cbg]

You can't LEGALLY be fired for being pregnant.

How many employees did this employer have? It makes a difference to what, if any, recourse you have.

I'm going to be blunt with you. I think you are going to have a very difficult time proving causality between your son's death and anything the employer did. And unless you can get a doctor to categorically state that the baby would not have died if your wife was not fired, I seriously doubt that you will get anywhere at all with a claim.

But I understand how important this is to you, so if you'll answer my question, I'll tell you what agency you would go through.

[hurt]

moburkes: I feel ill after that but I'm sure your right. I just try to keep it simple and stright thats just me.


cbg: There about 300 in the one place my wife worked at and I don't know how many other places they own at least one other with about the same amount of people. If you can really think of somebody here in TN that would even think about going after a large company let alone: for only ONE WOMAN, I would be impressed. P.S. We are starting to look at outside avenues, this has taken a beating on us and we have been trying to catch our breath over everything.

[moburkes]

Originally Posted by hurt

moburkes: I feel ill after that but I'm sure your right. I just try to keep it simple and stright thats just me.


cbg: There about 300 in the one place my wife worked at and I don't know how many other places they own at least one other with about the same amount of people. If you can really think of somebody here in TN that would even think about going after a large company let alone: for only ONE WOMAN, I would be impressed. P.S. We are starting to look at outside avenues, this has taken a beating on us and we have been trying to catch our breath over everything.

I'm not trying to make you feel ill. Just trying to point out the difference between what you thought and what was meant.

[cbg]

She can try filing a claim for pregnancy discrimination with the EEOC. However, it doesn't sound to me as if they fired her BECAUSE she was pregnant; it sounds as if she was fired because they could not accomodate her restrictions. She will need to show some kind of evidence, not merely supposition, that someone who had the same medical restrictions for a non-maternity reason would NOT have been fired, in order to prevail in a claim for illegal discrimination. That's the only claim I can see her having a prayer of prevailing in, and that's a long shot.

BTW, how long ago EXACTLY was she fired? She may have already passed the statute of limitations.

[hurt]

cbg: She has already filed with the EEOC back in November 2006. The EEOC even said something wasn't right with her termination due to employer points system, the points didn't add up right and he went through what her employeer said she had missed and he said something wasn't right with what they are saying. Her employer is claiming she had excessive absenteesm 30 points, and her employer then told unemployment she was terminated for a different reason: non-work related health reason,and claimant has lifting restrictions... The case with the EEOC has been transferred to 3 different people. The first EEOC wanted to do a mediations my wife agreed and then a month later the EEOC came back and said there will be no mediation and asked for a settlement amount. Then the next thing we know it was transferred. The second one we didn't even get to talked to when it was transferred to another EEOC staff. The EEOC who now says he has many other cases and asked if we would go lower on the settlement amount, we agreed and then the next month when she called he told her he can't work on hers yet and asked if she's ready to go back to work for this company that had fired her, after her conversation with the EEOC one - two days later she lost our son. We feel they are stalling and hope we go away or that she will go back to work for her employer that fired her. She was fired 08/23/2006 the same day the doctor wrote her a two weeks leave of absences. We have all the paper work since my wife started working for this company in 2005. She even kept all her paystubs. She has always been good at keeping paper work.
Thank you CBG anyway. Now you know why we starting to look at outside of TN for different avenues.