Pregnancy and Job Loss

What is the name of your state? Ohio

Last October I was hired at a new job. After I was hired I called who was to be my immediate supervisor and let him know I was 5m pregnant. He said it was not a problem at all.

Company policy mandates a review every day for the first week, one a week for the next 3 weeks, and monthly thereafter for the first year of employment. I did not receive a single formal review. However I did receive a daily email describing my daily duties (I worked a different shift and was by myself). Almost all of these emails stated what a great job I was doing, I was exceeding their expectations, etc.

After three weeks on the job, my immediate supervisor was transferred to a different division and a new one was hired. Things were going great (so I thought) until I started wearing maternity clothes. He fired me stating that I did not meet the skillset for the job (technically I didn't, but they *knew* that when I was hired and it was an entry level position) and the fact that I did not have a bank account for direct deposit.

I believe I was either fired for being pregnant or that I was hired as temporary help but they led me to believe it was a full time permanant position. I think it might have been a temp job because I had a lot of work to do the first 3 weeks, but the last two weeks I had nothing to do. The work I was doing was not even close to the work that they described. I was to be an information systems tech in charge of a network instead I cleaned machines, phones, labels computers.

Is there any type of a case here? Can they fire me for not having a bank account? Is there even a way to prove that I was fired for being pregnant?

Thanks,
DunnDidIt

I know that some states have reg's on the books that say an employer cannot mandate direct deposit. I don't know if Ohio is one of those but a quick call to your State's Department of Labor should get you that information.

As far as pregnancy discrimination, there really isn't enough information to hazard a guess whether that occurred or not. Certainly a new supervisor may use his or her own judgement of your job performance and what your job duties should be. Because your prior supervisor was pleased with you does not mean that your new supervisor will be. What we just don't know is whether you would have been treated the same had you not been pregnant. You can be terminated in spite of being pregnant, just not because of it.

If you feel you have been discriminated against on the basis of your pregnancy, then you can file a complaint with the federal EEOC.